


Double-Edged Sword

by EruditePrincess1993



Series: Double-Edged Trilogy [2]
Category: Divergent (Movies), Divergent Series - Veronica Roth
Genre: Angst, Arguing, Better Than Canon, Canon - Book & Movie Combination, Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Character Death, Conspiracy, Experimentation, F/M, Genocide, Kitchen Sex, Marriage Proposal, Non-Canon Relationship, Oral Sex, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-30
Updated: 2016-01-26
Packaged: 2018-03-26 11:46:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 28
Words: 74,903
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3849751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EruditePrincess1993/pseuds/EruditePrincess1993
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Now a Dauntless Leader, Tris Prior tries to leave her old life behind in order to move forward in her faction. However, when a development from Erudite threatens her old faction, she must choose between her lingering attachment towards her former faction and loyalty to Dauntless.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> This is the sequel to my story Double-Edged Knife. If you haven’t read said story, I suggest you read it or you’ll be lost. The war has yet to occur. 
> 
> Also on my FanFiction Account

My hand touches the ink on my neck as I gaze at my reflection in the mirror, looking at the tattoo I acquired two days ago. I acquired this tattoo the day after I signed the paper commencing my leadership training. Tori volunteered to draw the tattoo on my neck.

            I couldn’t talk for a few hours because that would move the muscles in the neck, therefore botching the healing process.

            Tattoos in Dauntless have many meanings, though this one is very significant. It shows that I’m a leader of this faction. One of them at least. It’s good that the five of us share the power instead of one holding it.

            Knowing that I have to get to my new office in thirty minutes, I quickly brush my teeth and pull my hair back in a ponytail to showcase the new tattoo on my body. Eric just left ten minutes ago, which is good because his birthday present is in plain sight.

            Today he’s turning nineteen and I thought to give him a pocket dictionary and a coffee mug because we have so many books. He’s hard to buy for anyway. Who would have thought that someone born in Erudite would be hard to buy for?

            I shrug my jacket over my clothes and leave the bathroom to quickly box the presents before leaving. I asked Jocelyn about ideas how to conceal presents and she suggested cutting up old boxes to create a gift box as it would save Dauntless credits.

            So, I cut up the empty box of pancake batter and made a box that way, gluing more cardboard on the inside to make it sturdy.

            I place the wrapped mug in the box before inserting the pocket dictionary. Once I tied the box shut with a string, I grabbed my headset and left the apartment.

            It’s amazing how a single change in your status can affect how people see you. The three people standing around the elevator parted as they see me approach, not uttering a word. I’ve been introduced to the faction as one of their new leaders and already my presence is considered prominent.

            Fortunately, so far most of the Dauntless were pretty receptive as me as a Dauntless leader. They probably remember the time I threatened Peter with the very weapon he used to attack Edward. I’m not considered as the demure girl originating from Abnegation.

            The elevator door opens and I’m the first one who enters. Will and Peter are in the elevator with a few members of technical support who are on their way to work. Will smiles at me though Peter stumbles back and his back hits the metal wall of the elevator.

            It’s amusing how he’s making a fool of himself sometimes but it also shows what a coward he is too. Eric did say that I being emotionally braver then he scared Peter, and that only comes from a coward.

            “Morning, Tris,” says Will.

            “Morning,” I greet back, holding on to the package tightly and carefully so it doesn’t drop.

            “What do you got there?” he asks.

            “A certain person is turning nineteen today,” I tell him. “I’m giving it to him during lunch.”

            “How did you conceal that?” asks Will. “The two of you live together as it is.”

            “We have a spare room which I know he doesn’t go in,” I answer. “I concealed it in there.”

            “Gotcha,” he says. “I’m going to think where to hide Christina’s present when her birthday comes up.”

            “You two are living together?” I ask.

            “Since Valentines’,” he answers.

            The elevator stops at the tenth floor and I disembark when the doors open. My footsteps echo in the hallway as I make my way towards the corridor containing the conference room and the offices of the five leaders. One of them belongs to me now.

            I stare at the wooden door to my new office. The original plaque has been screwed off and is now replaced with the plaque with the words TRIS PRIOR. Since I’m a Dauntless leader and my father is a Abnegation councilmember, the surname of Prior might stand out even more when it comes to inter-faction politics.

            I take out the set of keys from my pocket and unlock the door. The office was the same as Jackie left it but whatever personal possessions she might have had are probably gone. I put the box in the desk drawer and glance at the phone on my desk. The blinking could only mean that someone has left a message.

            Probably about this new and improved factionless sector patrol program that I’m in charge of. I press the number two and an automatic male voice says, “You have one new message" followed by a drawn out beep.

            “Hey, Tris. I just wanted to give you a heads up.” It’s Eric. “Sometime today, we should meet up with Four to discuss about plans for initiation this year. I know it’s only March and initiation doesn’t begin until the first week of September but they say it’s best to plan ahead of time. Love you, and good luck with selecting the patrollers for the factionless sector.”

            Of course. I haven’t forgotten the new policies that I proposed for initiation. While Eric’s policies weed out those who can’t take a punch and last in a fight, my additions will weed out people like Peter: people who think that being Dauntless equates with stomping on people they perceive as weak. We like strong people yes, but not the ones who use their strength to hurt others.

            As for Eric’s policies may be concerned, one might find them cruel and morally questionable. Putting two transfers against each other and fights ending when an opponent can’t stand may seem barbaric but we are the protectors of the people. Their soldiers and if something happens, only we’ll be the ones to combat it.

            I pick up my phone and look at the extensions on the side. I don’t know whether Tobias is working at this hour and I don’t really want to interfere with his work schedule. However, Eric does wish to discuss plans for initiation sometime today.

            I type up the extension for the control room and press the phone to my ear. It only rings twice until someone picks it up. “The control room. Daytime supervisor speaking,” I hear Gus, the daytime supervisor of the control room, say.

            “Hi, this is Tris, the new Dauntless leader,” I say. “I was wondering if Four was available. This is about initiation.”

            “Oh, he’s right here.” I hear him transfer the phone to him and him saying something but I couldn’t catch what it is.

            I thought I hear Tobias grumble and he says flippantly, “Yes, Eric?”

            “No, this is Tris,” I correct. Why on earth did he assume it was Eric calling? Eric is in a meeting with Max and Ross.

            “Tris,” he says in relief. “When did he hand over control of Dauntless initiation to you?”

            “I have some role in it, though he’s still in charge,” I say. “I’m calling because Eric is in a meeting. I wanted to spare him the time.”

            “So, this is about this year’s initiation,” he says.

            “Yes,” I say. “Eric wants to discuss plans for initiation sometime today. The meeting is between me, you, and him.”

            I hear Tobias swear under his breath before asking, “Is Eric doing anything at two thirty?”

            “Not that I’m aware of,” I say.

            “I’m off this afternoon and I would like to fill that time,” he says.

            “Will do,” I reply. “I’ll leave him a message.”

            “Thanks,” he says.

            “No problem.” I press the button to end the call and I begin dialing the extension to Eric’s office phone. It rings five times before I get his voicemail.

            “You have reached the office of Eric Matheson. At this time, I’m probably in a meeting or involved in some other important matter. If it’s worth my time, just leave a message.”

            He sounds formal yet irritated too. Typical of him. After the beep, I say, “Hey, this is Tris. I’m just leaving a message regarding the meeting about plans for initiation. Tobias thought that we might meet at two thirty, if it’s okay with you. Hopefully I hear back on that. Love you.”

            I hang up the phone and sit down at my desk. I turn on my computer and log into my account. I open up the messaging system to see that I have one message. I see that it’s just Max, asking for the list of people who I want to patrol the fence. Since I made that PDF document around Christmas time and I haven’t changed my mind, it doesn’t take me long to attach it to my message and I write, _These are some of the people who passed initiation from three to five years ago, as it wouldn’t too difficult to have them follow the new regulations._

            I send the message to Max and look at the agenda for today. I am supposed to send a memo to the technical support staff, informing them about the update of the safety regulations.

            With that in mind, I reopen the messaging program.

 

* * *

 

            “Did you get my message?” I ask Eric at ten thirty when I enter his office.

            “Yeah and I confirmed the time for him,” says Eric. “We’ll be talking about plans for initiation here in my office. Besides, I was hoping that you would drop by. There was something I wanted to show you.”

            Eric takes a duffel bag from the side of his desk and unzips it. He takes out a red, artificial looking rifle from the bag. It resembles the rifles we used for capture the flag during initiation last year.

            “Remember these guns?” he asks.

            “Yes. We used them for capture the flag,” I answer.

            “Good thing your initiate class used paintballs as ammunition, because the ammunition for this year will be painful,” Eric says, smirking in a way like he has something under his sleeve.

            “What do you mean?” I ask.

            He takes out a box from the duffel bag and opens it. Between his fingers is a silver ball that resembles a bullet, only there is a small needle at the end. “There are a few perks when it comes to our relations with Erudite. I contacted Jeanine about what the engineering department is up to and they were so kind to ship cartons of these.”

            “What are they exactly?” I ask.

            “Neurological Simulation bullets or Neuro-Sim for short,” Eric explains. “Once the needle is in the victim, it sends a message to their brains that they were shot and the effect of a gunshot wound could last from two minutes.”

            Eric is really upping it this year. “The purpose of this is...?” I begin to ask.

            “Capture the flag was created by the early members of Dauntless,” he explains. “It was formed to teach the initiates – transfers and Dauntless-born alike – about comradeship. Also, this game was also meant to prepare future battles in case a war breaks out. And let me tell you, getting hit in the cheek by a paintball will not prepare them for war. A Neuro-Sim bullet would but a paintball wouldn’t. Just because there was no war for two hundred years since the faction system’s creation, that does not mean there will be no wars after that. ”

            I realize how spot on he is. We need to prepare for war, even after two hundred years of no war. The Dauntless are meant to be our soldiers and protectors anyway. Erudite has historians, so they would know the history of all the factions, including their own.

            “By the looks of you, they wouldn’t think you were once Erudite unless they heard something like that come from my mouth,” I say.

            “That’s the intention,” he tells me. “You wouldn’t want them to think that you’re the girl from Abnegation, would you?”

            “Of course not,” I say. Especially if people think that the Abnegation are not strong enough.

            “Then we’re both even,” he says.

 

* * *

 

            I conceal the box in a plastic bag before going to lunch. Eric will join a few minutes later.

            My hand touches the metal surface of the door and I push the door open. As soon as I step into the room, I hear nothing but silence. It’s quiet that the only thing I hear are my footsteps.

            I remember the time when I first saw Eric. When I first saw him coming through these doors. When I heard nothing but the sound of his footsteps. It’s like that but the only differences are is that I’m in his place, there’s no initiate inquiring about my age, and I haven’t amassed a reputation yet.

            Unless you counted my threat to Peter after he was spreading lies about Eric and I.

            When I get to the food line, conversations pick up again. I grip the bag tightly as I pick up my tray. After picking up a plate and utensils, I place a breaded chicken breast, corn, and mashed potatoes on my plate. As usual I put hamburger gravy on the mashed potatoes. I pick up a cold bottle of pomegranate grape juice from the beverage counter and head towards where Will and Christina are already sitting with Shauna and Lynn.

            “I’m glad that it’s lunch,” I say. I place my tray in front of me and sit down. “I’m starving.”

            I cut up my chicken when Lynn asks, “You’re not sitting with people that are considered high status?”

            I raise my pierced eyebrow at her. “What makes you think that?”

            “You’re a Dauntless leader now,” she says.

            “Just because I’m a Dauntless leader now, that does not mean that I’m going to abandon my friends,” I say. “Besides, being a ambassador to this faction would qualify as a important position. It’s a government job.”

            Lynn snorts. “Yeah. I do your dirty work when the leaders don’t want to do speak with representatives from other factions.”

            “Not necessarily,” says Eric, who just dropped in a seat next to me. “There will be times when our schedules are full to actually make a visit to another faction’s compound.”

            According to plan, I remove the box from the plastic bag and place it in front of his tray. He turns his attention to the box in front of his tray as I began eating my food.

            “So, you’re giving my birthday present now?” he asks.

            “You don’t have to open it now if you don’t want to,” I say. “It’s your birthday anyway.”

            “I’m not one of those people who make a fool of their selves when receiving a gift,” he says. “Besides, I don’t want my curiosity to become flammable.”

            He unties the yarn as Zeke, Tobias, Jocelyn, and Sean join us. Tobias and his friends pay no mind, though I, Jocelyn, and Sean look at him expectantly as he removes the contents from the box.

            He smiles in amusement seeing that pocket dictionary. “This could come in handy if something doesn’t go my way in a conversation.”

            I hear Tobias cough, though I wonder if it was a scoff hidden in a cough. Eric unwraps the paper from the coffee mug. He tilts the mug in his hand and examines it.

            Christina looks at the mug and fails to hide a snort. Probably because the mug is blue, the color of Eric’s former faction.

            “Now, don’t let that give you any ideas,” says Eric, putting his birthday presents in their box.

            “So true love is not a cure all,” says Jocelyn, shaking her head in amusement. “You’re still the arrogant jackass we all know.”

            “Shut up, Jocelyn,” says Eric, his tone a mixture of irritation and amusement.


	2. Chapter Two

            At two thirty, Tobias and I meet Eric in his office. Tobias sits in the chair in front of the desk while I stand by Eric’s desk. Already, one could feel the tension in the room.

            Tobias clears his throat. “You wanted to talk about the initiation for this year.”

            “Exactly.” Eric laces his fingers together. “I noticed last year that you enforced my training methods unlike the year before. But that is because I decided to supervise most of the first stage of initiation, since I’d knew that you would be more likely to enforce them under my watch.”

            “I couldn’t stand and watch as he was beating that Amity girl two years ago,” says Tobias through gritted teeth.

            “That doesn’t apply as they are both cut,” says Eric briskly. “The boy was muscle and no brains. I wasn’t surprised when he was ranked twelve during the announcement of the final rankings. As for the Amity girl, she would have done better in another faction. Just be glad that the boy didn’t pull a Peter Hayes.”

            I wouldn’t put it pass Eric to disregard past initiates. As for his use of the phrase “pull a Peter Hayes”, I could easily translate it. It’s a initiate who will attack another initiate in pursuit of a rank he didn’t earn.

            “What do you have in mind for this year?” Tobias asks abruptly.

            “Same as this year and the same as before,” says Eric, “only they’ll be slight changes.” He turns to me. “You want to tell him, Tris?”

            Tobias knows, hence why he confronted me about it three days after initiation when I was preparing dinner. However, Eric doesn’t know that Tobias knows and I don’t want to get him into trouble.

            “There has been a change to the cutting policy,” I inform Tobias.

            “A change?” His surprise was probably cleverly feigned.

            “For stage one, they’ll be three cuts; one cut for stage two and in stage three, we’ll cut those who didn’t rank a ten and above,” I explain.

            “Cut one person after stage two?” he asks, even though he knows this.

            “Sometimes someone can’t stand facing their fears,” says Eric. “Also, if an initiate was to willingly leave for some reason, it will not save someone from getting cut. That person will still be cut. Also, we added a new policy to the cutting system, one that coordinates with how we address violations by initiates.”

            “If a initiate were to attack another initiate for whatever reason, whether proven or speculated, the attacker will be cut from initiation. No questions asked,” I say. “We can’t have someone who will pose a threat to the initiates.”

            Tobias looks stumped. I guess some things slipped his memory. It’s March now and that was way back in September. He pauses and says, “That’s how you changed the cutting policy?”

            “Like I said, the system favors the most determined,” Eric explains. “By most determined, I don’t mean by initiates that try to attack others to get a certain score. It violates the Dauntless manifesto.”

            “Like you actually follow it,” I hear Tobias mutter in a disgruntled fashion.

Eric gives him a stern glance and I fear that that could have been the seed of an argument. Fortunately, Eric doesn’t address it. “Tris and I will be overseeing initiation: I’ll oversee the transfers like before, however, she’ll be with me.”

“Do the Dauntless-borns need a leader to oversee their initiation?” Tobias asks.

“She will oversee them sometimes,” Eric answers. “However, the Dauntless-born don’t need to have a Dauntless leader to oversee their initiation most of the time. They know this faction and what’s expected of them.”

Tobias purses his lips. It appears that he is disappointed about the fact that Eric will still be overseeing the transfer initiates, though he probably wishes it was just me and not Eric. “Well, one thing I also want to address.”

“And what is that?” asks Eric.

“That you not pair initiates where one would come off worse than the other,” says Tobias. “One of these days, someone might keep beating their opponent even after they are unconscious.”

“If I’m correct, your job is to call off the fight if it happens,” says Eric. “It’s not my fault. It’s that initiate’s problem if he or she proceeds to keep beating his or her opponent even after he or she is unconscious.”

“You’re the one who matches the initiates up,” Tobias accuses.

“Unlike you, I show no bias towards the initiates,” says Eric. “I don’t want to make it easy for these kids. It wouldn’t be realistic. According to the Dauntless manifesto, ‘we DON’T believe in living comfortable lives’. Therefore, initiation shouldn’t be comfortable.”

“But we shouldn’t enforce barbaric and unethical practices in initiation,” Tobias snarls.

Wanting to avoid a nasty fight, I say, “That’s enough.”

At this moment, Eric’s phone rings and he says to Tobias, “It appears this discussion has come to a close. You may go.”

Tobias leaves without hesitation and Eric picks up the phone. “Yeah?”

After a second, Eric answers, “Yeah, I’ll participate in coding the patrol zones…she’s right here, so it wouldn’t take time.”

He puts the phone on the receiver. “Good thing Four has left, because Max wants us to code the patrol zones in the factionless sectors.”

“Now?” I ask.

“Obviously,” Eric answers. “Why else would he call at this time?”

As we approach the door to leave his office, I tell him, “I liked that, you know. that phrase ‘pull a Peter’.”

Eric shrugs. “That came from the top of my head so I could make the topic relevant.”

“We should use that for the transfers,” I say before practicing, “If you want to stay in Dauntless, don’t pull a Peter.”

Eric chuckles. “I will definitely use that.”

“And if one of them asks, explain what it means,” I continue.

 

* * *

 

“What you see in front of you are the zones that were identified when the program was originally in place,” Max explains. Before us is a map projected on the wall. It shows the factionless sector, with different areas shaded in a different color. “Each Dauntless member was assigned a zone in a certain time period before ending their shift or transferring to another zone.”

I approach the map, picking up the pen. Having made meals for the factionless and even in participating to deliver food to fill my volunteer hours, I know which areas need to have more and less members of Dauntless soldiers.

“There are two gathering points in the factionless sector,” I explain. “One where factionless receive food from the factionless; the other where they receive clothing and other goods. Originally forty-eight were at the fence, and we now reduced it to twenty-four, correct?”

“Exactly,” says Veronica.

I turn and use the pen to transfer the names to certain areas, so that they were evenly proportioned, but keep the gathering points to three Dauntless guards a shift. In these two gathering points, the number of Dauntless soldiers should be limited to three. Place six of them there and even if they weren’t the original patrollers, they might interfere with the offering of goods.”

            Ross pinches his nose; Eric strokes his chin while Veronica leans forward before sitting up.

            Max rubs his eyes before looking at me and saying, “Why three for each of the gathering places? Seems like that would limit the numbers?”

            “Place six in the gathering places and chances are that some of them might interfere with charity being performed,” I explain. “It’s best too if the number of soldiers in an area are evenly proportioned. We don’t want too many soldiers concentrated in one area.”

            “Reason enough,” says Max.

            “When Dauntless soldiers were patrolling the factionless sector before, the gathering points for food and clothes had two additional of the required number, which was six,” Eric explains. “We don’t need that many in the gathering points. They can always call for backpack if there was a hostile situation.”

            “That would work out just fine,” says Veronica.

            “Exactly,” Ross agrees.

            That didn’t take much time to have them agree with my patrol plan. The factionless need policing as much as help but that doesn’t mean that we should have more Dauntless soldiers in one zone then others.

            “All we’ll need to do for tomorrow is gather the patrollers that we’ll assign to the factionless sector and explain the new regulations,” says Max. “Then we’ll survey the factionless sector to identity the zones to update the coordinates for

            “I already contacted the Abnegation yesterday,” says Eric. “They’ll send out someone out there to explain to us about what has been going on in the factionless sector aside from the rise of the homicide rate and for us to explain the new regulations. That way there wouldn’t be friction. The Erudite send sociologists out there from time to time but the Abnegation spend more time with these people, so I thought it would be logical to speak with one of them about it.”

            “Who are they going to send out there?” asks Max.

            “When I heard back from them, one of the wives of the councilmembers volunteered,” Eric answers.

            One of the wives of the councilmembers? Why not one of the councilmembers themselves since they are government workers?

           

* * *

 

            “Four is going to have a field day when he learns about those Neuro-Sim bullets,” says Eric as we washed the dishes, washing away the remnants of tonight’s dinner which was steak, baked potatoes, and vegetables. “He might launch into his ‘we can’t harm the initiates’ lecture.”

            “When do you plan to show him?” I ask as I place the dish on the rack to dry.

            “The month before initiation,” Eric answers. “As for the paintballs, we’ll have the dependents use them for recreational use. They don’t need to prepare for war until they are members.”

            With the task done, I squeeze the soap from the sponge. “How was dinner? It is your birthday.”

            “Excellent,” he says. “From your records, your birthday is May fourteenth, is that correct?”

            “Yes,” I answer.

            “In that case, I should return the favor by giving you breakfast in bed,” he says with a smile.

            “Breakfast in bed?” I ask. “I’m not that spoiled.”

            “Birthdays are meant for you to be spoiled,” says Eric. “You’ll get used to it eventually. It’s not like you’re still Abnegation.”

            Even though I see no trouble in looking at my reflection and engaging in activities that the Abnegation view as indulgent, it still feels as if my Abnegation roots are still engrained.

            It’s probably like that for those who transfer to other factions.

            “Well, you’re still technically Erudite,” I point out, raising my eyebrow. “You like detailed.”

            “You really know how to be cheeky, do you, Stiff?” Eric asks with a smirk. Right after that, he crushes his lips into mine. The blood reaches the surface of my skin as I place his hands on his shoulders, digging my nails into the fabric of his vest.

            When my back hits the kitchen wall, he grabs my wrists and pins my arms.

            “Eric,” I breathe, looking into his eyes after our lips break apart.

            “Pity that we didn’t do this more than once,” he says, rubbing his callused thumb on my wrist. He leans his lips against my ear and says, “I still want to see you sprawled on the countertop.”

            I remember his comment that November when we were making the gingerbread house; about how he wanted to screw me on the kitchen countertop. I wasn’t emotionally ready then, but with his pelvis against mine and my skin hot against him, I know I want him.

            “Do it then,” I say. “Do me hard.”

            Eric smirks and says, “Well, Stiff, your wish is my command.”

            With a swipe of his hand, the objects fall onto the floor and he places me on the bare countertop. I lie down on my back and he gets up on top of me before attacking my lips.

            As our kisses increase in ferocity, I feel the need to be skin to skin like last time. I rip his vest off and discard it like it’s nothing. He grabs handfuls of the black fabric of my shirt before pulling it over my head and throwing it to the ground.

            It doesn’t take long until we’re both skin to skin, my bare back touching the cold surface of the countertop. One part of me is nervous about us making love in this part of the apartment. That someone could knock on our door and walk in at any moment.

            The lustful part of me doesn’t care. I shouldn’t be afraid.

            I raise my hips and spread my legs apart so he could ease into me.

            “You want me to screw you hard and fast like last time?” he asks.

            “Yeah,” I say breathlessly.

            “its official: you’re no Stiff,” he says.

            He fits himself inside me and I dig my fingernails into his flesh in case I might fall off the kitchen counter when the thrusting begins.     

            Unlike the mattress during our first time, it feels different on the countertop. Probably because on a hard surface, the passion feels prominent though lying on here feels uncomfortable.

            Pleasure isn’t meant to be comfortable.

            His lips leave mine and begin trailing down my neck, kissing the pattern of the tattoo. His nails dig into the flesh of my waist. I arch under him, gasping.

            The counter stays still due to the movements that we make. Good thing it’s fixed to the floor or it would have tipped over.

            We both come close together and he empties himself inside me. The two of us lie on the countertop, feeling nothing but the beating of our hearts.

            “I was that for you?” he asks me.

            “It’s not that I expected it to be comfortable,” I tell him as he brushes a lock of hair behind my ear. “Not that all sex is comfortable.”

            “Sexual pleasure is not meant to be comfortable.” He kisses me on the lips before pulling out of me. “Now, let’s get dressed and sanitize the counter.”

            It takes a few minutes to get dressed before we clean the counter with sanitation wipes. In minutes evidence of our lovemaking is removed from the counter before we place the cookbooks back on the counter.

 

* * *

 

            For some reason, I’m in the cafeteria room back in Upper Levels. Looking out the window, I see heavy rain before I hear a crack of thunder; right after it, I see a flash of lighting.

            “You didn’t make a choice the last time,” I hear Jeanine say. I turn to see that she’s beside me; her blonde hair pulled tightly in a bun and she wears her trademark, blue lab coat and dress. She folds her arms across her chest.

            “Choose what?” I ask her, feeling confused. I did the aptitude test, chose my faction, passed initiation, and became a Dauntless leader. Why do I need to retake the test?

            “Choose,” she says.

            I look to see the two pedestals from the aptitude test. Instead of the knife and the cheese which I both rejected, there is a ball with spikes and a burning iron rod.

            “I don’t want to,” I say.

            “Choose,” she repeats. “You can’t reject either like the last time.”

            Knowing I have no choice, I approach the pedestals. I could feel the pulse in my throat as I look at my choices. I don’t want the rod, so I have no choice but to pick up the spiked ball.

            I pick it up and instantly blood runs down my hand. Suddenly, I hear bloodcurdling screams from the door behind me.

            For a moment I forget that my hand is now covered in blood and I rush to open the door. I have to save whoever is screaming; whoever is dying. It will be cowardice if I don’t.

            When I open the door, a flock of crows land on me, latching their talons into my black clothes. Before I could brush them off me, two crows land on my eyes, blinding instantly as they sink their talons into my eyeballs.

            At that moment I jerk awake, cold sweat running down my face.

            I’m still here at my home, Eric’s arm wrapped around my waist. I shake the nightmare inducing images in my head before I try to go back to sleep.


	3. Chapter Three

“Six years ago, the council made a decision to pull the Dauntless out of the factionless sector due to a series of malpractices,” Max says to the group of Dauntless selected to patrol the factionless sector. “That could happen again if we don’t follow the new set of regulations.”

            We’re standing outside in sixty degree weather. Right now, this area of the factionless sector is devoid of factionless. Either they are getting their food or we’re the reason why they are not in this area.

            Most likely it’s the latter because unlike the Abnegation, we appear threatening due to the style of our clothes. Especially with the tattoos and piercings that we showcase.

            “Why not the regulations we had before?” asks a boy with purple Mohawk.

            “The regulations were one of the reasons why the council decided to pull the Dauntless out,” Eric answers, not bothering to hide the irritation in his tone. “The person who created them didn’t bother to write the specifics and when the rules are simple, that’s when mistakes happen.” Eric turns to me and says, “Share them the new regulations, Tris.”

            I pull the paper from my pocket and clear my throat before reading them. They are still the regulations which I thought of, only I added, “You are not to harass members of Abnegation as they hand out food and other goods. You are not to harass members of Erudite who are here to make a sociology report on the factionless. Wielding weapons and the color of clothing you wear does not excuse harassment of members of another faction. Dauntless produces protectors, not bullies. If you violate this rule, it will result in immediate action from either Tris Prior or Eric Matheson.”

            I lower the paper. “And we expect you to abide by these regulations.”

            “You know we’re not going to see a single Abnegation here,” argues a girl with green streaked hair and a ring between her nostrils. “The Erudite reports have been saying –”

            “You realize that there is no warehouse filled with food, right?” I demand, cutting her off. “You think that the Abnegation will eat food that has been sitting for weeks?”

            “If Erudite reported it, it must be right,” the same girl insists.

            “Oh, you’re going by a mathematical error?” Eric asks, his words like acid. “The Erudite are not all-knowing, something that you should learn.”

            “Besides, you will not challenge me on this matter,” I demand. “And you’ll look stupid by the end of the week due to that outburst.”

            Eric smirks with satisfaction as Max asks, “Does anyone have an objection?”

            Nothing is heard except for the chirping of the birds.

            “Well, then,” says Max once no one has spoken. “Those who are on your current shifts remain. The rest of you, go back to the compound.”

            As the group of Dauntless dwindles down and separates, I take out my tablet to redefine the coordinates of the cameras here so that they will be on regular feed.

            “Oh, there is the volunteer to give us information regarding the factionless,” I hear Eric say.

            I snap my head up to see that an Abnegation woman carrying an empty hamper approaching us. When she gets closer, with a pang I recognize her.

            It’s mother. She was the one that volunteered to give us information regarding the factionless?

            Then again, it’s a stupid question to begin with. Mother devotes her time to helping the factionless.

            “Good day, Max,” says mother politely. “I hope you had a good morning.”

            Wait? Does mother know Max? Oh, being the wife of a councilman, she probably keeps track of who the leaders from other factions are.

            “I appreciate your consideration,” says Max as they shake hands. A Dauntless gesture. It’s the second time I have seen her shake hands with someone and it’s like she has done more it more than twice. “I’m sure you met one of the Dauntless leaders that was just appointed.”

            Max is referring to me and I must not show attachment towards mother lest should I be seen as a faction traitor. I hold the tablet to the side and shake her hand. She appears placid but I could tell that she’s restraining herself. She wants to hug me like the last time we saw each other on Visiting Day during my initiation.

            And I find myself doing the same thing.

            “I’ve seen that you’ve been pretty busy,” says Eric, gesturing to the hamper in her hands. 

            “I’m not the only one out here,” says mother. She holds out her hand and he shakes it. “Nice to see you again.”

            “My pleasure.” Eric withdraws his hand and laces his fingers together. “Hopefully, we won’t be a burden to your fellow faction members who are present. Abnegation and Dauntless do not mix most of the time.”

            “No worries,” she assures. “They know that we will be walking through the gathering points.”

            Yes they probably know but they still might be unsettled by our appearance. The four of us walk through what is labeled _Zone Six_ and I enter the last of the coordinates for that zone.

            The gathering point for food is not far off. I could smell the aroma of soup and baked bread from a distance. I remember going down to the kitchen in Abnegation headquarters and smelling the food that was being prepared for the factionless; I remember the few hours I have spent my volunteer time to help prepare the food.

            In the first gathering point, I see the collapsible white tables lined with picked over food. There are five Abnegation present, managing the contents of their hampers; taking out some more food. Among them I see Susan.

            There are three Dauntless lined up against the wall, looking at the scene before them with skepticism and confusion. Probably confused because they read that report accusing the Abnegation of hoarding food; probably skeptical because they don’t believe what they are seeing is a selfless action.

            “Don’t take the food on the tables!” I hear Eric shout, addressing the three Dauntless guards. “Taking one of the bowls would only result in someone having an empty stomach. Besides the food is not meant for us.”

“How many times a week do you do this?” Max asks her.

            “Once,” she answers promptly. “We give them a warm meal at the start of the week and give them nonperishable food for the next six days. That’s only fifteen percent of the food supply.”

I see the boy that Tobias was talking months ago emerge from a building. He looks around, as if he’s afraid he might get caught stealing before taking a bowl of garden soup and disappearing into the building he came out of.

“Have you had any hostile experiences with them on occasion?” Max asks her.

“No,” she says. “They don’t behave in a hostile manner when we’re distributing food clothes, and medicine but I have no doubts that they are hostile with each other when we’re not around.”

“Squalid environments and poverty cause hostile behavior,” says Eric, as I type the coordinates for the second camera at the first gathering point. “Natural but unpleasant.”

“It’s not an easy choice to leave after making a round of giving them food and other necessities,” says mother. “Who knows what might happen when no one is around. Hopefully, hostile interactions wouldn’t culminate into something worse now that you’re back in the factionless sector.”

            “Don’t worry,” Eric assures her. “The homicide rate will decrease. Also, the new regulations are tight and don’t read like someone just spent a second in here. Like the last time.”

            Mother nods. “It’s like the previous guards didn’t understand the purpose of distributing food and other necessities to the factionless. Right before the pull, one Dauntless guard compared it to giving food to a rabid animal.”

            I thought I hear suppressed anger in her tone when she said the last sentence. In Abnegation, it’s not denied that the other factions could care less for the factionless.

            “Don’t worry,” I say, speaking to her for the first time. “They are forbidden from interfering with charitable practices.”

            “If they do, it’s a return to patrolling the fence,” says Max. “These people haven’t patrolled the factionless sector before, so incidents like that should be avoided.”

 

* * *

 

            “I don’t understand,” I say to Eric as we are both examining the security files on the database while we’re in his office. “My mother is Abnegation and it’s like Max knows her.”

            “They would have to know each other if they were both born in Dauntless,” says Eric.

            Something in his words rattles me. I turn to him and ask, “What?”

            “On your third night here, I looked through your records,” he answers matter-of-factly. “From there I learned that your mother was born in Dauntless but transferred to Abnegation. A Dauntless-born transferring to Abnegation is just as rare as an Abnegation-born transferring to Dauntless.”

            Mother was Dauntless? How could she be, if she’s always been the most selfless one of the family? Then I remember that parents don’t talk about their childhoods in past factions to their children and during Visiting Day, mother said something about knowing the details of Dauntless initiation.

            All I could say is: “Oh.”

            “Not everyone is cut out for the faction they are born in,” says Eric in response. “Perhaps she preferred the peace and tranquility of Abnegation over Dauntless. Initiation was a bit different too but not everyone is cut out for Dauntless.”

            Was it the peace and routine that attracted her to Abnegation? Or was she enamored by the selflessness of the faction that she wanted to be a part of that? To not think of herself and put others first. She is a natural of being selfless and she has the energy that most people don’t have.

            The office phone ring and Eric picks it up. “Yes?” he asks in his trademark flippant tone.

            After a minute his expression is a mixture of irritation and anxiety. “How much did he see?”

            I stand up from my chair. Did someone go past the outer limit of the patrols?

            “Well, make sure Johanna and the others keep him in place until I get there,” says Eric. “If he gets aggressive, give him a dose of peace serum until he resets.”

            He slams the phone down and says, “Shit. Tris, mind if you complete the remaining security checks? I have to go over to the Amity farms to reset someone.”

            “Okay,” I say before turning back to my computer monitor. There were fifteen files left to be checked over, so that wouldn’t take me too long before I do my weekly paperwork.

            Paperwork. It’s not like I didn’t dread it either. Those with government jobs do paperwork on an almost regular basis.

 

* * *

 

            “No, they are not allowed to take anything,” I tell Veronica over the phone at my own office. “Just because canned food is in plain sight over there, it does not give permission to take it.”

            “Stacey said that it was food that should have been distributed to the other factions,” says Veronica. I slam my pen on the document. “However that does not excuse theft of food.”

            “Why be upset over fifteen percent of food?” I demand. “I’m appalled. A violation on day one. They are not supposed to take food from the factionless. Eric said so specifically to them a few hours ago. Send her over to Eric. I’m busy with paperwork and I’ll have a stroke if I deal with her now.”

            I slam down the phone and pick up my pen to continue to write on the document concerning the revenue. Looking at the clock, it’s five thirty in the evening. Another full hour yet until I have the evening to myself.

            Worst of all, I’m starving. I heard that it’s not good to function while on a empty stomach. Knowing that they have cookies and doughnuts in the break room, I leave my office for a short time to retrieve a doughnut to hold myself over for a bit.

 

* * *

 

            “You want another one?” Jocelyn asks me, inquiring about the tattoo on my right forearm.

            “Yeah, here.” I point to my left forearm.

            “Good thing you’re Eric’s girlfriend or he’ll break you in half when he sees that you will have the same tattoos on both forearms,” says Jocelyn, as she readies her utensils.

            “He didn’t mind when I got my right forearm tattooed like his,” I say.

            “Get microdermals above your right eyebrow,” Christina jokes as she’s cleaning up her station. “Then you’ll two really look alike.”

            I snort. “I’m not that masochistic. You don’t know how painful that would be?”

            I still could not understand why Eric decided to have microdermals above his eyebrow. I could understand why one would have a piercing on the eyebrow but above it? To me, that’s painful.

            They laugh as Jocelyn prepares the needle to begin. I just lean my head back and close my eyes, trying to mentally relax.

 

* * *

 

            The next morning, I awake to the smell of coffee and eggs. He must be already up preparing breakfast. I sit up and stretch before standing on my feet.

            I shrug on my black bathrobe over my pajamas and leave the bedroom.

            “Morning,” I say with a yawn.

            “Morning,” I hear him greet back as I approach the kitchen. “You were out like a lightbulb.”

            “That’s because yesterday was mentally exhausting,” I say. “It’s not that I thought that being a Dauntless leader was going to be that easy.”

            “Yeah, it’s not very easy work,” says Eric. “I get days where I want to wring people’s necks because of their overall incompetence. Trust me, you would too one of these days.”

            “I thought I was going to get a stroke yesterday,” I tell him, my hands on the back of the kitchen chair. “The first day of placing the Dauntless back in the factionless sector and I hear from Veronica that one of them tried to steal canned peaches and peanut butter from the factionless. The first day. I was doing paperwork too and that’s why I wanted you to handle it to avoid a stroke.”

            “Stacey was rather defiant with me,” says Eric, “which tested my patience, especially since I had to reset the memory of someone who went beyond the outer limits of the patrols. She thought that we were wasting food. I reminded her that fifteen percent is not much and that we don’t take what’s not ours.”

            “What did you do?” I ask.

            “I told her that if she does it again, that she’ll go back to the fence,” Eric replies. “That she was lucky that I didn’t cut her fingers off.”

            “Even with Dauntless who were members for three to five years, we are having problems with them,” I say. I know who the culprit is when it comes to the issue about the factionless receiving food: Erudite.

            It was as if Eric guessed what I was thinking. “Those who believe a report with a mathematical error are not that bright. Then again, most of the Dauntless population is not bright.”

            This is nothing unusual. The Erudite are critical of the Dauntless since everything our faction does defies logic. Eric’s Erudite mentality is most likely deeply engrained in his mind as the Abnegation mentality is to me.


	4. Chapter Four

            Another day in March. Another day in the delivery of fear serum. Veronica and I oversee the delivery, making sure that the crates don’t get accidentally dropped to the ground, which would result in the vials breaking.

            The Erudite overseeing the delivery process is my brother Caleb. I wonder if Jeanine had him come on purpose. Why is she obsessed with testing me? Is she hoping that I might make a mistake? That I violate ‘faction before blood’?

            As of now, I can’t answer those questions.

            The two of us monitor the delivery as we hold our tablets, not talking to each other. However, it’s like Caleb glances at me every three minutes.

            Nine minutes have passed until I hear him ask. “Why the neck?”

            He’s asking about the ink running down the side of my neck. It reminds me of my own question when I asked Tori about her tattoo before taking the aptitude test. It also reminds me of Tori’s statement before she drew the tattoo on me.

            “I can never understand why they chose the neck,” she said to me that day as she prepared the needle. “It’s the most painful part of the body when it comes to tattoos.”

            In response to Caleb’s question, I turn to look at him in the eye and say, “I could hardly fathom why either.”

            “During initiation, he read this book about Dauntless,” he says, looking incredulous. “Apparently, whoever has that tattoo is a leader of that faction.”

            “Tattoos in Dauntless can represent anything,” I say. I wish I could tell him about my three raven tattoos and what they represent. However, that’s not something to share right now. Jeanine might ask him about what was said and she might coax him into spilling details that should keep quiet.

            Whatever I want to say, I have to save for Visiting Day this year. Visiting Day. This year it will be different, as I’m no longer an initiate. I’ll stay out of the way that day, as the Pit will be full of initiates and their visiting parents.

            I look over at my tablet, to examine the progress of the delivery. Eighty-seven percent of the fear serums delivered so far.

            “What might interest you is that tattoos became a trend for this faction two decades after the founding of the faction system,” says Caleb. “They wanted to show that they can tolerate pain.”

            It does make sense coming to think of it. Things are done in Dauntless with a purpose after all.

            “That’s interesting,” I say. I turn back to my tablet. Luckily, Caleb doesn’t speak after that.

            “Okay, that’s it with the supplies,” says Veronica as the tablet now reads one hundred percent. She looks at me and says, “We need to steer the boxes of serum into the supply room.”

            I turn off my tablet and approach the trolley so we can bring the cartons of fear serum into the compound. Just as I turn my back, I hear Caleb shout, “Beatrice!”

            I abruptly turn to see him approach me, carrying an envelope. “Jeanine wanted me to hand this to one of the Dauntless leaders at the end of today’s fear serum delivery. It’s for your main leader to read.”

            He gives me the envelope and I look at the red words **_CONFIDENTIAL_** stamped on it. Whatever it is, Jeanine probably doesn’t want the other four Dauntless leaders to know just yet, unless she wants to clue Eric in.

            This leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Knowing Jeanine, whatever is written in that envelope can’t be good.

            I place the envelope in my jacket. “I’ll give it to Max as soon as possible.” Before I make a stupid decision, I exit behind the door. Hopefully Caleb understands. He’s Erudite after all.

 

* * *

 

            “Max, the Erudite member overseeing the delivery of fear serum wanted me to give this to you,” I tell him, handing him the envelope. “It’s from Jeanine.”

            “Thanks, Tris.” Max puts the envelope face down on his desk.

            “Your welcome.” I exit his office and go into my own. No messages left for me on the phone. Nothing too important to get my immediate attention yet.

            I sit behind computer desk and log into my account. Hopefully there is at least something to keep me occupied so I can put off the paperwork for an hour. Not that I hate the paperwork. In my inbox, there is no message for me as of yet.

            However, I keep the screen up as I take out the paperwork which I need to fax to Erudite regarding the information about the fear serum after filling it out. This is going to be a long three hours before lunch.

            As I start with the paperwork, the phone begins to ring. I put the pen down on the first sheet of paper and pick up the phone. “Tris Prior speaking,” I say promptly.

            “Hey, Tris,” says Eric from the other line. “Could you spare a few seconds.”

            “Sure.” I smile. “What is it?”

            “I’m faxing you the initiation policies,” he answers. “That way you can have a copy of it too.”

            I walk to the fax machine. Seconds later, a sheet of paper was printed out of the fax machine followed by another. I pick up the sheets of paper and say, “Okay, I got them.”

            “I updated the policies to add your additions,” he says on the other line. “It will take very careful reading for any other person to understand the initiation policies.”

            “Okay,” I say, setting the papers on my desk. “Thanks.”

            “I’ll let you go,” he says. “I don’t want to take up your time unless they need you for something.”

            I shake my head as I put the phone on the receiver. Looking at the papers, they consist of what the initiation instructor is supposed to do, like following the training methods, what the training methods are and on the second page, is a list of violations that are punishable. The ones that stand out are:

            _Vandalizing the property of another initiate (i.e shredding the bedspreads) is punishable by docking of initiation points. Even if it’s to prank a friend, it’s still punishable by docking points. I understand the need to prank fellow initiates, like short-sheeting the bed, but that doesn’t include vandalizing._

_When it’s obvious someone is down, don’t keep beating them. This faction trains soldiers, not brutes who don’t know when to stop or who don’t know how to throw their weight around. It’s punishable by being written up, docking of points, and possible limitation of job opportunities._

_Dauntless initiation is competitive, and I’m sure it’s disappointing to not get a certain score. However, one must not achieve that score by attacking/maiming/attempting to murderer that initiate when unprovoked. It is a direct violation of the manifesto. If one attacks/maims/attempts to murder a fellow initiate unprovoked, the punishment is immediate expulsion. No second chances._

For the last one, I recognize that one since I made it that when a initiate is attacked by another initiate, that they immediately get cut from initiation. We can’t have someone around if they pose a threat to the other initiate’s safety.

I scan the documents so that they are saved electronically on my account before I place the papers in a manila folder.I place the manila folder in the filing cabinet before getting back to work with the paperwork I got started on before Eric called.

 

* * *

 

“How is that initiation is months away and the instructors are already getting memos regarding it?” Christina asks me as we move through the food line getting our lunch.

“According to Eric, we’re better off if we prepare early.” I put some potato salad on my plate.

Christina rolls her eyes. “What is it with the Erudite wanting to plan things months ahead of time? It’s only March and initiation doesn’t start until the first week of September.”

“Must be something about avoiding errors,” I say. “Those born from Erudite still want to avoid errors even after they transfer.”

“Why do we have to be with the guys originating from the intelligent faction?” asks Christina as she picks up a banana walnut muffin from the platter at the end of the food line. “Only your guy is a pretentious piece of work.”

“I won’t tell him you said that,” I tell him. Yeah, there is no denying that Eric is arrogant. He hasn’t changed since I first met him.

Tobias, Lynn, Marlene, Shauna, and Zeke are already sitting down when we get to our usual table.

“…then these kids started fighting over it,” says Shauna as Christina and I sit down with them. “Fortunately a factionless adult broke up the fight just after it started.”

“What was the altercation about?” I ask, grabbing a bottle of ketchup for my steak.

“Over a can of sweet peas,” Shauna says.

“Did they act like they were going to cause serious harm to the other?” I ask curiously.

“It was more childish in nature, since they were around ten,” says Shauna. “I don’t understand why children live in those conditions.”

It’s something that the founders never took into account. Two people who are factionless will get together and conceive a child. In fact, there are children are born factionless. If it’s proven that the child lost his or her parents at some point, an Abnegation couple unable to conceive a child will adopt the child. If a factionless child still has his and her parents, they are considered unadoptable, as the city council, solely consisting of Abnegation, believes that it’s selfish to remove them from their parents. Children who are born factionless and who are unadoptable can’t choose a faction when they are of age. Those who are factionless by default, remain factionless if they have living parents.

“Why doesn’t your faction of origin do anything about children born factionless?” Lynn demands, snapping me out of thoughts. “They run the city.”

“Well, if a factionless child lost his or her parents, a couple from Abnegation who can’t have children adopt the child,” I answer truthfully. “If the child still has his and her parents, they are considered unadoptable. They see it as selfish to rip the child from their parents if they are still living.”

I say the last sentence in a tone that indicated that I didn’t want the issue further discussed. Fortunately, Lynn doesn’t say anything.

“What do the Erudite do if a couple can’t have a child?” Christina asks Will, who just joins us.

“They conceive a baby via in-vitro fertilization in an artificial incubator,” Will explains, taking a waffle fry from Christina’s plate. “Using the couple’s egg and sperm.”

Marlene makes a face. “Ew. That’s something one wants to hear while we’re eating.”

“If you like, I could name the phases of meiosis for you,” says Eric as he sits down next to me.

“Okay, apparently someone made a blunder involving camera transmissions in the room that we work in,” says Will, obviously changing the subject.

Everyone else sitting at the table was paying attention to the story Will was telling, not bothering to look at our direction.

“Any misdemeanors at the factionless sector yet?” Eric asks me.

“Fortunately so far, no,” I tell him. “I hope there isn’t a message from Max or Veronica about another guard trying to steal food from the factionless.”

Hopefully, I didn’t jinx it by saying those words.

 

* * *

 

Fortunately, I didn’t get a message from the other leaders involving violations at the factionless sector. My shift passed without incident and when I return to the apartment, I see a note left by the coat hooks by the door:

_Max and I had to go to Erudite headquarters on business. I left at fifty after five and I’ll most likely be home by eight. Don’t worry about making dinner twice. I can reheat whatever you made._

_Yours, Eric_

I wonder if it had to do with whatever Caleb wanted me to pass over to Max. Whatever it is, they don’t want me to know yet or ever. I remove the note from the wall and proceed to the kitchen. Perhaps brown rice, baked chicken, salmon, and assorted vegetables will do.

Erudite food and Abnegation food combined. I’ll brew him tea shortly before he comes back. When I turn on the burners, I think about what the note possibly contained. Max is the head leader of the five of us, so it made sense why Jeanine might have just wanted him to read it.

 _But Eric went with him_ , the suspicious part of me thinks.

 _Shut up_ , scolds the logical part of me, _it could be anything_.

 _Besides, it was rather selfish of you to think that they would purposely exclude you_ , scolds the former Abnegation girl I once was.

It’s correct; it could mean anything and it’s not always about me. Though, it is rather odd, considering that if it is about that envelope, that Max took Eric with him.

I’ll ask Eric when he comes back. Just in case.

 

* * *

 

I fixed the meal and served myself a serving of it before I stick the food in the fridge. I take a quick, warm shower and I brew tea before curly myself on the couch with a book.

Just as the kettle blows steam, I heard the door unlock and Eric comes in. I set my book aside and stand up to embrace him. he places a hand on the small of my back as I peck him on the lips.

“How was your day?” I ask him as I pull away.

“The usual.” He smirks. “People getting on my nerves that I had to put them in their place.”

That doesn’t surprise me.

“I just brewed tea for you,” I tell him. “Dinner is in the refrigerator.”

“What did you make?” Eric steps into the kitchen and approaches the refrigerator.

“Salmon, baked chicken, assorted vegetables, and brown rice,” I answer, following him into the kitchen.

“I’ll take the salmon,” he replies. He opens the refrigerator and takes out the plates and bowls with the food before getting a plate from the cupboard.

“How did that trip to Erudite go?” I ask him.

“Not too bad.” Eric placed a piece of salmon next to the brown rice. “We had a meeting with Jeanine. She gave us the exact details as usual.”

“What did you talk about exactly?” I ask.

Eric turns to look at me. He presses his lips, as if he’s deciding whether to tell me or not. Finally, he says, “Whatever I say doesn’t leave this room? Understand?”

I nod, crossing my arms.

“Jeanine has invented some new brand of simulation serum,” says Eric. “She wants us to bring over Dauntless test subjects every two weeks to test it out.”

A new brand of simulation serum. If it’s invented by Jeanine, I should be suspicious. But what do I know. I’m not Erudite and I don’t work directly under her. I doubt Caleb knows either, since he was an Erudite member for just a few months.

“A new simulation serum?” I ask. “Is that for the fear landscapes?”

Eric lifts a shoulder. “She wouldn’t tell us the exact details, since she said it was in the beginning stages.”

If she doesn’t want them to know what she’s making now, it sends a big alarm bell in my head.

“She didn’t tell you the details?” I ask.

“She won’t tell us the details until the serum is no longer in the testing stage,” he answers.


	5. Chapter Five

            March passed without incident and since the incident where one of the Dauntless guards tried stealing peanut butter and peaches, fortunately there were no violations. I guess Eric scared Stacey enough that she would avoid committing another violation.

            April arrived with heavy rain and for the first week of April, most of the days brought nothing but rain or drizzle. The Dauntless guards at both the fence and the factionless sector decked out in rain coats and galoshes before going outside in that weather.

            “When is it going to stop raining?” Lynn demanded one afternoon. “One of these days, the streets will flood.”

            “Without the rain, the Amity wouldn’t be able to grow their crops,” Eric pointed out to her. “Without the rain, there’s no food.”

            “We have nonperishables,” said Lynn.

            “But we would run out eventually if there was no rain to help the crops,” Eric pointed out even further.

            The rain slowly subsided into the second week and this week, the third week of April, the weather was mostly pleasant, with little rain. Currently, I’m walking through the factionless sector, doing my mandatory overview, survey patrol.

            The sun beat down on the back of my neck as my feet crunch on the gravel. The Dauntless guards are patrolling in their designated areas, talking on their headsets and there are a few factionless walking around, two of them exchanging a can of food. The factionless eat off the same can I heard.

            I can only imagine how easy it would be for disease to spread that way.

            I approach one of the guards and ask, “Anything to report for this zone?”

            “There was an altercation between two factionless individuals two days ago,” he says. “Clint and I dissolved it as soon as it started. No serious injuries were sustained as we know.”

            I nod. That’s the reason why we brought the Dauntless back into the factionless sector: to lower the homicide rate among the factionless. The factionless need protection from themselves as well as help from Abnegation.

            “Have any other incidents of that nature occurred?” I ask formally.

            “That was the only incident so far,” he answers. “As for the others, they’re doing nothing. As usual.”

            I log the information in my tablet before saying, “Okay. Thanks.”

            “Anytime, miss,” he says.

            I nod and continue my way, leaving Zone 3 and I enter Zone 4. There are five factionless currently outside, one of them sweeping the cracked pavement with a worn broom. That factionless boy – who I heard was named Edgar – is going through a bag of potatoes. They are probably rotten by the smell of it.

            He looks up at me and instantly takes the bag before rushing into one of those buildings. Like he’s afraid that they’ll be trouble if he stays out here any longer.

            As I am about to approach the guard for the monthly report on Zone 4, I hear a vaguely familiar voice ask, “So, you chosen Dauntless, did you?”

            I abruptly turn around and I see that it was the factionless man who I encountered after my aptitude test. Instinct drives me to step back one step and I place my hand on the butt of my gun.

            He takes a step forward. “Even with the color in your hair, the tattoo, and the piercings, you still look the same last time.”

            I pull out my gun and point it at him.

“Easy, easy.” He steps backward, his hands up.

“You don’t know what I’ve been through and what I was taught back there,” I say through gritted teeth. “You do not want to mess with me. If you lay a hand on me, you won’t know what’s coming. A Dauntless leader taught me well in terms of self-defense and I’ll assure you, once I’m done with you, you wouldn’t stand for a week.”

The color of his skin turns to puce after I said those words and he backed away before exiting into the building next to him. I lower the gun and take deep breathes, trying to calm myself.

“Are you okay?” I’m asked by one of the Dauntless.

I turn and say, “Yeah.”

I continue my way and walk towards one of the Dauntless soldiers for a report on this particular zone.

 

* * *

 

Once in the Pire, I go into the break room to get a cup of coffee. When I enter, I see that Eric is there, already pouring himself a cup of coffee. He turns his head once I’ve closed the door behind me and he gives me his mug of coffee.

“Thanks,” I say before adding cream into my coffee.

“Anytime.” He pours himself another mug of coffee. “Did anything interesting happen in the factionless sector?”

“Nothing much.” I take a sip of coffee. “I did encounter that factionless man who I encountered on the day of my aptitude test though.”

“He didn’t make the mistake of getting too close to you, did he?” Eric takes a sip of his coffee.

“He just took one step towards me and I pointed my gun at him,” I answer. “I told him that he didn’t know what I was taught and what I been through, that he shouldn’t mess with me. I don’t think he saw it coming, since it was easy for him to grab my wrist the last time when I tried giving him dried apple slices. I was naïve at that time too. And too forgiving.”

“That’s what happens when you’re in a new environment,” he says. “One tends to adapt to it. One can’t remain like they were when they first stepped into Dauntless.”

“I understand,” I tell him. “It’s not easy to be kind here. As you said to me once, _it’s best to be ruthless then kind, because when you’re ruthless, you get that respect. Being kind here only allows people to walk all over you like a doormat_.”

“Exactly,” he says. “A kind and soft person doesn’t last Dauntless initiation. Also, you weren’t the same person that you were when you stepped in here.

 

* * *

 

I was on my second sheet of paperwork when the phone rings. I hesitate for a few seconds, thinking that it was Veronica to report another violation. However, I pick it up.

“This is Tris Prior speaking,” I say promptly.

“Well, Beatrice,” I hear Jeanine say on the other line. “It’s pleasant to speak with you.”

I feel my blood go cold and the hairs on the back of my neck raise. She’s the one who is most likely responsible for what happened to Uriah last year. I consider slamming the phone down on the receiver to avoid the inevitable, but doing so would cost my position in Dauntless leadership. It’s unprofessional as well.

I recover myself and say coolly, “Hello, Jeanine. I’m sure everything in Erudite is running smoothly.”

“If is,” she says. “I appreciate your concern. How has everything been since your appointment to Dauntless leader?”

I gulp. “Stressful but I’m managing. It’s not like its simple though. It’s been a month and no problems.”

“Have some chocolate once in a while, like once in two weeks a month,” she suggests. “It will help.”

“Yes,” I say. “I know that.”

“I’m sure your parents would be proud of you,” she says. “You have, after all, climbed the ranks in Dauntless.”

Sensing a trap, I spit out, “I don’t care what they think.”

“Well, they are your parents,” she says.

She’s dropped the bait to lure the target. I know it. “Faction before blood, remember?”

She pauses before saying, “Yes, that is correct, Beatrice. You still haven’t misplaced your priorities.”

My parents would be disappointed in me if they heard those words. They would think it was selfish of me to lie and I wouldn’t blame them for thinking that. However, I had to lie considering that Jeanine was setting a trap.

After hearing no response from me, Jeanine says, “I was wondering if you could come along with Eric and Max to Erudite next week. I felt that your presence is also required.”

I think of what Eric told me. That Jeanine wanted him and Max to bring in Dauntless test subjects to test a serum that Jeanine has recently invented. Why does she want me to come along now?

“I thought only the Dauntless leaders who you gave permission were going to come,” I tell her.

“Well, I thought that it would be a learning experience for you when it comes to interfaction relations,” she says. “You are, after all, a Dauntless leader now.”

Nothing else screams ulterior motive then this does. It’s like she wants me to know what she’s up to or at least give me an idea, just so I could squirm. Part of me wants to back away and refuse but I fear that something much worse could happen to me if I did.

“Alright, I’ll come along,” I tell Jeanine.

When I hung up the phone, I was never more relieved than I was before.

 

* * *

 

“Guess who Jeanine wants to accompany you and Max to Erudite headquarters next week?” I tell Eric during dinner in the privacy of our apartment.

He looks away from my dinner plate to look at me. “Is there a reason why she wanted you to come along as well?”

“It’s because she wanted me to learn more about how interfaction relations work.” I pop some spaghetti in my mouth. “That is all.”

“I see,” he says. “She might talk your ear off though. That is a favorite thing of hers to do.”

The same goes for anyone born in Erudite, but I can digress.

We finish dinner and wash the dishes before we go to the bathroom. We’ve had sex and have seen each other naked before, so it’s not a big deal that we can take showers together.

I strip as he gets the water ready. Once he’s in the shower and I stepped out of my underpants, I get in the shower stall with him. I let the water run down my hair and my body, all while feeling his body close to mine.

He hands me the bottle of hair shampoo and I squeeze the contents in my hand.

Once I’ve lathered my hair and rinsed it, I turn around to hand him his body wash when his lips touch mine. At first I don’t know how to respond to this action, since I’ve never been passionate in a bathroom shower stall before. A second later, instinct propels me and I kiss him back, my arms touching his wet back.

I kiss him down from his lips to all the way down his torso until my eyes lock on the area between his legs. Back in Mid-Levels and Upper Levels, I would overhear the Dauntless dependents talk and joke about oral sex. You think I cringe and disapprove of what they were talking about since I was in Abnegation at the time but instead, I did some research regarding the practice.

My tongue touches the tip of his member and I feel that he’s hard as a rock. I close my eyes as I put it into my mouth. I move my mouth up and down, running my tongue around his cock.

It feels weird; having his equipment in his mouth but that doesn’t stop the waves of pleasure I feel.

I place my hands on his stomach as he places his hands on the back of my wet neck. Remembering what Dauntless girls have said in school, one of my hands reaches his balls and I lightly squeeze them. judging by Eric’s grunt of pleasure, I know that he likes it.

When he comes, his seed fills my mouth and I swallow it. It’s foul-tasting of course, but that didn’t take away any satisfaction from it.

We both clean up after our shower and I wash off the remaining seed that’s around my mouth.

“Who would have known that the former Stiff knows how to give head,” Eric says as we get dressed in our pajamas.

“If you hear Dauntless dependents joke and talk about oral sex, of course one is bound to read about it in a sexual health book out of curiosity,” I tell him.

“You must have had aptitude for Erudite,” he says. “You got that curiosity.”

 

* * *

 

Around sometime in midnight, we both hear someone bang on our front door. I jerk awake, with Eric’s arm leaving my torso as he jerks awake.

“Shit.” He throws the blankets off of him. “What do they fucking want at this time of night.”

Since I’m only wearing one of Eric’s boxer briefs, I quickly pull on a sports bra, t-shirt, and sweat pants. I quickly stuff my feet into my shoes before following Eric out of the bedroom.

“Yeah?” I hear Eric say irritably as I go into the living room.

“I’m sorry to wake you, sir,” says a Dauntless man, “but we saw someone jump into the chasm.”

I fear my pulse in my throat as I feel fear race through me. Did someone jump like Al did or was this person murdered like Uriah was?

“When did this happen?” Eric demands as we both follow this man through the corridor.

“Just before midnight,” he tells us. “Due to the location of his body, we figured that he jumped.”

When we get to the Pit, I see crowds of Dauntless surrounding the railing as two Dauntless men are pulling ropes to hoist the body up. All of the sudden, I smell a reeking odor so strong that it makes my stomach queasy.

“Do you smell that?” I ask Eric.

He furrows his brow. “What smell?”

“It smells like…” I pause and I look to see the body is now on the surface of the Pit. When I see who it is, it’s like my bones disintegrate and are being replaced with gelatin.

It’s Uriah.

At that instant, I hear the sound of the alarm clock and I bolt right up in sitting position, breathing heavily.


	6. Chapter Six

            “What is the purpose of this trip again?” asks Gabe, one of the former Dauntless-born initiates.

            “The Erudite are testing a new brand of serum,” answers Max as we walk further into the Erudite sector, towards Erudite headquarters. “Jeanine Matthews specifically asked for test subjects to test it out.”

            “Excuse me, but why would she want anyone of us?” asks Peter from behind. “Why didn’t she pick anyone from her own faction?”

            I turn towards him and step closer to him. Peter steps one step backward, like he’s looking for an escape. “You think that she’d use dependents for this sort of thing?”

            He shakes his head. “No.”

            “Exactly,” says Eric as I step away from Peter. “Don’t bother asking stupid questions either.”

            The three of us lead the four Dauntless test subjects into Erudite headquarters. It is before lunch hour as the library is nearly bare, with only a few Erudite members present. People are either at work and school at this time of day.

            It doesn’t take us long to get checked in. Afterwards, we walk through the corridor leading from the library, passing by a few Erudite who are curious as to why Dauntless who are not higher level are present. Whatever Jeanine is inventing, she probably doesn’t want a percentage of the Erudite to know.

            Which means that there would be those who would disagree with whatever Jeanine was planning.

            The seven of us huddle into an elevator and I feel my heart pound hard in my chest. I wasn’t supposed to be here; it was just supposed to be Max and Eric taking the test subjects to Erudite. I still can’t get that uneasy feeling out of my head about this.

            The elevator opens at the twelfth floor. Upon entering, I see that it’s different from the other corridors I have stepped into. The walls, floors, and doors are white and due to the absence of windows, one could guess that these rooms are used to perform top secret projects.

            Projects that only select Erudite and those who are in Jeanine’s inner circle would know.

            Waiting for us by one of these doors, is Jeanine herself and a woman who looks to be her assistant. She smiles coolly as she assesses us.

            “Right on schedule,” she says.

            “There would have been no point in being late, rest assured,” says Eric.

            “Dr. King’s team is waiting to test the serum in Laboratory 4-A,” says Jeanine promptly. “We must not dawdle any longer.”

            She and her assistant lead us to a wide door with a long box that’s to its side – a facial scanner. Jeanine bends down and the scanner scans her face from her forehead to her nose.

            “Access granted,” says a cool female voice before the door opens from the bottom. We all file into the laboratory, which is dark room, the lighting being little blue pinpricks from the wall. The lack of windows confirms the idea that whatever they are testing in here is top secret.

            The thought makes me clench my teeth together in apprehension.

            There are four chairs, each connected to a tablet. There are four Erudite standing by each of them, my brother being one of them.

            I just look at him for just a few seconds before looking at the ground.

            “From what you were probably told, we will be testing a new serum on you,” says Jeanine. “Since this serum is still in the experimental stage, you will not divulge what you experienced.”

            “Wouldn’t it be bad for our brains, though?” asks Peter. “You did say that this serum is in the experimental stage.”

            “If it were harmful for your brains, you wouldn’t be here,” Jeanine replies. “I’m a very careful and thorough individual.”

            I bite my nails in apprehension. I still feel uneasy about we’re about to see.

            “Take a seat, will you?” asks one of the scientists who I’ve seen Jeanine with. Dr. King probably. The selected Dauntless members approach the four chairs and I watch as they are strapped to the chair. Wires and electrodes are attached to their faces. Then they get the syringes ready.

            “What will we be seeing?” I ask Jeanine, as they are injected with the serum.

            “It depends how you perceive it,” says Jeanine, wearing her trademark cool smile.

            It depends how I perceive it. Okay, that sounds optimistic. It means that I could take it in a negative viewpoint, which will be possible.

            The Erudite – including Caleb – approach the panels by the chairs while Dr. King pushes something on a screen and squares light up. I pay attention to what’s happening. The faces of the Dauntless subjects appear blank; their eyes are open but their features are slack. Paying closely attention to Peter, I see that his pinky is twitching, but it’s like he’s unaware of it.

            I walk by the chairs, observing the scene. Once in a while, an Erudite would adjust the wires attached to them before going back to their tablet, which is a picture of a certain side of the brain.

            Once I’m behind Caleb, I ask him, “Are they aware of what’s going on?”

            “No.” He turns towards me. “The computers are sending messages to the transmitters, which forwarding those messages to the brain.”

            So, they don’t know what’s going on. The transmitters send messages to the brain to perform various tasks. All of which they know nothing about.

            If they don’t know what they’ll be doing under this serum, then Jeanine has an ulterior motive about using it. And that motive can’t be entirely pleasant.

 

* * *

 

            “How are we going to know if Peter keeps his mouth shut about this?” I ask Eric as we grab some knives from the weapons room. “Though he has a penchant for lying, he’s still Candor.”

            “Yeah, that’s bound to be a problem.” Eric takes his forth knife. “I know how to silence him if he does.”

            “By killing him?” I ask. I’m hoping that’s not the case, but a part of me wishes that it will be his fate if he doesn’t keep his mouth shut about what is going on in Erudite headquarters. I should have kicked his head in during initiation anyway.

            “No, not that extreme,” Eric answers. “Memory serum will just be enough.”

            Wiping his memory so that he can forget that one thing. That’s not a terrible choice either, as long as they make him forget what he’s done to me; though I wouldn’t be able to forget.

            Eric and I leave the weapons room with our choice of knives and go down to one of the training rooms where the targets for throwing knives and shooting from guns are. He flicks on the lights and I take in the smell of dust and metal. Even after initiation, the training rooms are still used by Dauntless members to vent.

            “Now, let’s see who can throw their knives the fastest and if they hit the center target,” says Eric, with that particular gleam in his eyes.

            “And who doesn’t…” I ask.

            “The loser gets to cook dinner tonight,” he says smirking.

            “I wouldn’t get too cocky if I were you,” I remind him, withdrawing the first knife from the first panels of my pants. “Remember what you said to us during initiation? That we shouldn’t get cocky?”

            “That was different,” he retorts. He flips his knife and throws it at the target. The knife strikes the middle of the center circle.

            “Show off,” I say playfully before throwing my knife at the target. It sticks right under his first knife.

            “Tricky, are you Stiff?” he asks, raising his eyebrow.

            “Hey, I practiced without the knife at first during initiation for a reason, Eric.” I roll my eyes. I throw the second knife. It strikes the second innermost circle.

            “And some people are idiots for not recognizing that,” he tells me. “Like, Peter, for example.”

            His second knife strikes close enough to my second knife.

            “You know, both of us could win if we continue at this rate,” I tell him just as I hear the door open.

            “I’m not sure about that, Stiff.” He throws his third and final knife.

            After I throw my final knife, he says, “Guess who’s making dinner tonight?”

            “Then that means you’ll be doing the laundry,” I tell him.

            “I could live with that,” he says.

            “Having too much fun over here?” asks Tobias as he approaches. He notes the knives sticking on the board.

            “Actually, we were just finished,” says Eric. “If you came to use the knife target, there was no need to bring your own. Otherwise, don’t do anything stupid.”

            When we left the training room, I say to him, “Was that actually necessary?”

            “As I say, that’s nothing new,” he tells me.

            “Seriously, you two act like five year olds when you’re together,” I tell him as I roll my eyes.

 

* * *

 

            Jeanine’s punctuality and obsession with perfect schedules was proven during the two weeks of April when we brought in new test subjects. It was creepy to see them reacting to the serum without knowing they were doing.

            Again, whatever Jeanine was creating, it was not for initiation. Of course it wouldn’t be.

            The beginning of May was rather muggy and since temperatures had risen in the eighties, the cooling system in the Pire activated the central air in each room. There wasn’t central air back in Abnegation and Caleb and I would spend the summers trying to keep cool.

            “The factionless are becoming temperamental now that it’s humid outside, according to one of the guards,” Eric informed me the week before my seventeenth birthday. “When it gets hot, people get angry.”

            “I heard,” I say, wiping the sweat from my forehead. “I hope there have been less assaults within the factionless sector due to the humidity.”

            “Apparently, Shauna and Nigel stopped a group of factionless from attacking each other over food,” Eric said. “I am wondering if the Erudite will be willing to lend their sedation vials.”

            Maybe the most aggressive of the factionless need sedation after a fight.

            Due to the humid weather, Christina and I bought cartons of ice cream and during our breaks, we sat outside and ate out of the tiny cartons.

            “The Candor specialty is ice cream,” she said as I took a bite of the super scoop ice cream. “Pints of it. More then what Dauntless has. However, it’s not as good as the Dauntless cake.”

            “We never had anything in Abnegation,” I tell her. “To have a faction specialty was considered self-indulgent. Ice cream is considered extravagant.”

            “What would the faction specialty be if Abnegation had one?” asks Christina. “Give me a honest answer.

            There is her Candor again: asking for a honest answer. I think about that one for a while before saying, “Plain oatmeal.”

            “That wouldn’t surprise me since oatmeal taste bland when there is nothing in it,” she says smiling.

            “No, it’s not,” I argue, though I’m smiling. “I’m not one to put peaches and cream in my oatmeal.”

            “You should try it,” said Christina. “It’s good.”

            “Yeah, good luck with that one,” I remind her, rolling my eyes. “Eric tried convincing me but he didn’t have luck.”

            “Someone is stubborn,” says Christina. “Must be an Abnegation thing.”

            They say that Tobias is stubborn. I guess that those originating from Abnegation fit that mold after a year in Dauntless.

 

* * *

 

            “Stumbling upon the rankings chalkboard this morning gave me an idea about how we will present the ranks,” Eric tells me after lunch. “How many times did we present them?”

            “Three,” I answer. “The stage two rankings being just a progress report.”

            “And that caused some tension, did it?” Eric asks me.

            Thinking about the butter knife in Edward’s eye and Peter trying to toss me over the chasm, that is an understatement. Though that might not solve the tension regarding the rankings. I nod. “What do you intend to do this year?”

            Eric draws two boxes on computer paper and uses a red pen to draw a line. “Instead of showing the rankings three times, the initiates see them in their dormitory every day. In actuality, we do grade them every day.”

            “How are we going to post them every day?” I ask.

            “We’ll transmit the information from the computers and after dinner, the initiates will see where they currently stand,” says Eric. “If their name remains below the red line at the end of the first stage, they are out. If they see their progress every day, they’ll be more determined to pass initiation.”

            I see that Eric has a point. Besides, it would save the anxiety of wondering what your rank will be before the end of that particular stage.

            Knowing Eric, I wouldn’t be surprised if he changes some things for initiation every year since his transfer: to both mess with Tobias and to test the determination of the initiates.


	7. Chapter Seven

I woke up to the fourteenth of May to the smell of chocolate chip pancakes and bacon. I stretch on the mattress before turning my head over to see the clock. It’s five in the morning.

            Today, I turn seventeen, though I don’t feel different then yesterday. Caleb turned seventeen in November and unfortunately I wasn’t there with him. I wonder how they celebrate birthdays in Erudite. Buy new books for that person? I don’t know since I wasn’t born Erudite. I’ll have to ask Eric about that one.

            Considering that Eric said something about making me breakfast in bed, I stay in bed, lying awake. We have to report to our offices thirty minutes after seven anyway.

            It wasn’t long before we came through the doorway carrying a tray that’s holding my breakfast. He wasn’t lying when he told me that he would serve breakfast to me in bed.

            “Happy birthday, Stiff.” He sets the tray on my lap after I sit up. “Breakfast in bed as promised.”

            He didn’t have to spoil me, but then again he will tease me for still being a Stiff. “Thanks,” I say before looking down at my plate. Chocolate chip pancakes with bacon; there are blueberries and strawberries nesting between them.

            I add syrup to the pancakes before picking up the butter knife and fork to cut up the pancakes.

            “Do you want your present now or later?” he asks me as he sits on my side of the bed.

            I look at him as I swallow the piece of pancake. “Now that you said it, how about now or my curiosity will be bugging me all day.”

            “That’s a rather smart choice,” he says, standing up. “I’ll be right back.”

            It doesn’t take him long. It only takes him one minute and when he comes back, he’s holding something wrapped in newspaper. “Here.” He puts the box by my arm. “I thought you like it.”

            I wipe my hands and pick up the box. I carefully unwrap the box and open it. I pull out what looks like a book, only the cover and the pages are made out of plastic instead of the materials it’s usually made out of.

            “You have to open it,” he tells me.

            Opening it, I hear a tune I vaguely remember.

            “Is that the Moonlight Sonata?” I ask. I didn’t know who the composer was.

            “Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata,” he clarifies. “It’s recommended that we listen to his music in Erudite, as they say that it stimulates the brain, thus enhancing the intellect. Same goes for other ancient composers like Mozart and Bach.”

            Of course. The Erudite are intellectuals, so of course they will listen to what they think stimulates the mind. In Abnegation, music of any form was frowned upon, since it had nothing to do with helping others and self-indulgent at best.

            “What is your favorite composer?” I ask him.

            “Personally, I favorite Mozart,” he says. “I should have you listen to his pieces someday.”

 

* * *

 

            “So, your idea is to display the ranks every day?” Tobias asks Eric after he pulled him out of the control room to inform him about his recent idea.

            “Yes,” Eric answers. “I thought it would be best if the initiates saw their daily progress. It would push them to do better. It would give them extra motivation if they don’t want to end up factionless.”

            Tobias examines the diagram once further before throwing it on Eric’s desk. “Do you know what it will result in?” he demands. “A jealous initiate attacking another because they didn’t improve in score.”

            “If that happens, we’ll ensure the expulsion of that initiate,” I say, leaning against the wall. “We can’t have someone if they pose a threat to the initiates.”

            “Still, it’s a bad idea,” says Tobias.

            “What’s bad about pushing initiates to bring out their strengths?” Eric demands, raising an eyebrow. “In a study three years ago, they discovered that people did better when the bar was set high for them. If the bar is low, it doesn’t turn out successful people. People do better when the level of difficulty is raised. When you don’t push someone, they don’t have that motivation.”

            “Still, you’re turning Dauntless into a faction of mindless brutality,” Tobias argues. “Look what happened with Edward. Because of your –”

            “Instead of getting a report from the nurse and the witnesses, you threw a temper tantrum in Max’s apartment,” Eric interrupts, cutting cleanly across his words. “You were supposed to help me do those things. Since you were stuck in that stubborn bubble of blaming me for things, I stayed up until four in the morning.”

            “You told me,” Tobias spits out in irritation.

            Eric is not one to let things go and of course he’s not going to let go of that.

            “You have to prove that you’re a proper initiate instructor this year, Four,” Eric says. “One more incident of not taking care of your initiates and I’m going to have to find someone else who knows how to take care of his initiates.”

            Trying to divert them from arguing with each other, I clear my throat. “Aside from the new rankings scoreboard, Eric came up with something a few months ago.”

            I open his desk drawer and pull out the box containing the Neuro-Sim bullets. Eric takes the box from me and opens it, dropping one of them into his palm.

            “This was what the engineers over at Erudite came up with a few months ago,” Eric answers. “The Neuro-Sim bullets give the effect of a gunshot that only lasts for two minutes. We’ll be introducing them this initiation. Be thankful that we only had paintballs in our initiation.”

            Tobias looks at the box, examining the contents with caution. He looks up at Eric and asks, “Extending the difficulty to a game?”

            “When capture the flag was created back during the founder’s time, it wasn’t just to teach the initiates comradery but to also prepare them for another war,” Eric explains. “Since you were out of reach of books back in Abnegation, you wouldn’t understand that. Which makes sense while your plan for this faction was rather mediocre, thus weakening the faction.”

            “That was my not my intention,” Tobias answers

            “You would be amazed at the flaws I found with your plan while you shared it with Max during the leader-in-training selection process,” Eric answers. “I wasn’t lying when I said that you wanted to turn Dauntless into Amity.”

            Sensing another argument, I sent Tobias back to the control room. While fights were natural in Dauntless, Eric’s and Tobias’s arguments were more hostile and toxic in nature.

            “Mind if I handle the transfers and you oversee the Dauntless-born during initiation?” I ask Eric. “At this rate, you two might wind up strangling each other.”

            He shrugs. “I see no harm in that. It’s getting rather tiring standing in the same room with him without punching him.”

 

* * *

 

            “Who did you see during your shift?” I ask Christina during lunch. “The usual characters?”

            She snorted and says, “Yes. And most of the time they come in drunk. I never knew that alcohol could also be considered a truth serum…”

            “Then those guys better watch out,” Jocelyn cut in. “If they do anything, anything they said will be used against them.”

            “And when it does happen, it’s rather ugly,” Sean continues. “You don’t want to get in the middle of those fights.”

            “Ugh,” I say, before continuing my spaghetti.

            “Still making plans for initiation?” Will asks.

            “Yes, since it’s only a few months away,” I answer with a shrug.

            “Since you are now a Dauntless member, you’ll find out about the betting pool,” Zeke replies.

            The last two words cause me to drop my fork. “Wait? Betting pool?”

            “Yeah, whenever there is initiation, there is a betting pool among the Dauntless members,” says Tobias, like the notion is uncomfortable. “It started twenty years ago I heard.”

            “They bet on who they think will stay and who they think will lose,” Eric continues as he sits down next to me. “Also, they bet on who they might think might jump that year.”

            Upon hearing that, I feel sick to my stomach and I lost all my appetite. “Why would anyone bet on initiate’s fate, especially if it involves the initiate jumping? That’s barbaric.”

            “That’s why I never participate,” says Tobias. “It’s morally questionable.”

            “On the night of the final rankings, at least half of Dauntless lost bets,” says Eric. “The other half bet that you stay.”

            “You didn’t participate, did you?” I ask Eric.

            “I never saw the logic in them anyway,” he says. “A waste of Dauntless credits. In Erudite, they dismiss that notion as soon as someone thought of it.”

            “Still, it’s barbaric,” I point out. “Looks like I’m going to suggest a blanket ban to Max regarding the betting pool.”

            “Unfortunately, Max was the one that encouraged it to keep on going,” says Eric.

            I run my hands through my hair in frustration before taking a deep breath. “Pushing the initiates to do better and raising the bar? Not barbaric. Betting on the fate of initiates? Now _that’s_ barbaric.”

 

* * *

 

            After spending the rest of my shift filing paperwork, I decided to go to one of the training rooms to blow out some steam. I needed to blow some steam after hearing about that betting pool.

            I know I could go to Max and request for there to be a blanket ban, but my request might fall on deaf ears. I’m a new addition to the Dauntless leadership anyway, so that would be a reason why my request for the blanket ban might not be taken into consideration.

            Opening the door to the second training room, I’m greeted by the smell of dust and sweat. I flick on the lights and approach one of the orange punching bags. I get in position and begin punching the bag with my fists.

            I let out any frustration I had; any anger that was pent up and as a result, the bag sways violently.

            I proceed to use my knees when I hear the door open.

            “Hey,” I hear Eric say, causing me to turn around. “Letting out some steam?”

            “You could say that.” I run my fingers through my hair.

            “It’s not good to keep it all in anyway,” Eric says. “One tends to blow like a volcano if they keep it in.”

            It’s not healthy. Physically and emotionally unhealthy.

            “If you want to take the rest of the edge off, how about some sparring?” Eric suggests. “Like old times.”

            Ahh, yes. The very thing that led up to everything that happened between the two of us. The thing that I dreaded initially seems nothing in comparison at the moment.

            “Sure,” I answer.

            “Excellent,” he says.

            We both ascend the platform in the middle of the room, which is stained with dried blood and residue from vomit that has been cleaned up. We both get in position, are arms spread out to guard both our faces and abdomens.

            We spend the first few second circling until I deflect a punch from my jaw. I aim to kick his side, only for him to grab a hold of my foot and flip me to the ground.

            I pull my foot free and yank his ankle with my feet, causing him to join me on the floor.

            “I must admit,” he says as I stand on my feet. “You haven’t gotten rusty.”

            “You taught me the moves in the first place,” I point out as he stands on my feet. “I was rather unwilling to learn from you at first.”

            “Imagine if you didn’t take up the offer,” Eric says. “That fight with Peter would have had horrible results.”

            Though Eric had me train under him without my consent, I knew he was right. If I was able to turn him down, I would have entered that fight unprepared. Or knowing him, he would have had me fight Peter for my first fight, leaving me more unprepared.

            “But it didn’t happen like that.” I aim a punch to his nose, though he blocks it with his palm. We continue our playful sparring until the two of us are lying on the platform together, our arms touching.

            He shifts his weight and brushes his lips against mine. I lift my head up for more and I wrap my arms around his neck. The kiss deepens and it becomes rough, with the blood reaching the surface of my skin.

            His lips pull away from mine and I gaze up to look at his eyes.

            “Let’s get out of here before someone comes in and walks in on us,” he tells me.

 

* * *

 

            After showering, I dress into an old t-shirt and black sweats before going into the bedroom. I pick up the music box and wind it up so it plays the Moonlight Sonata. While it begins to play, I pick up _Extensive History of the Factions_ before laying down under the covers on the side of my bed.

            I know history regarding the Abnegation, so I skip over to what history says about Dauntless. As Eric said, capture the flag was formed to prepare the initiates for war; that they wanted new members to be prepared for whatever might happen in terms of battle.

            Then I come across the thing about knife throwing. According to this back, it was practiced ever since the days of the founding of the factions. The founder of Dauntless, Joshua Wright, didn’t think that just teaching initiates how to handle fire arms and use hand to hand combat would be enough. It was said that he knew that there would be times where one would be out of reach of gun when it wasn’t safe to use their hands. As a result, he introduced knife throwing as a third defense option.

            The passage concluding the section reads: _Though the meaning of it has dwindled, it’s still a tradition in Dauntless initiation to this day_.

            “Playing that music box?” Eric asks as he enters the bedroom.

            I nod and return to where I left of. I feel the bed dip as he goes on his side of the bed.

            “So, knife throwing was intended as another self-defense method,” I tell him.

            “Yes it was, since they thought that just shooting from a gun and using hand-to-hand combat wouldn’t be enough,” says Eric. “Nowadays, the Dauntless just like to show off with them. It’s pitiful that the current generation of Dauntless don’t know an iota of its original meaning.”

            “But you do,” I point out.

            “I’m one of the minority in Dauntless who do know the reason why we have knife-throwing in the initiation process.” Eric snorts. “There are those who think it has no meaning at all and Four is one of them.”

            I remember that look Tobias gave Eric during initiation after Eric explained the purpose of the knife throwing; like he begged to differ.

            “Did Amar explain it when you were initiates?” I ask him.

            “All he said about it was that it was Dauntless tradition,” Eric answers. “Nothing too precise and that’s probably part of the reason why Four thinks it was pointless.”

            “Even though you explained its original purpose to us during my initiation,” I say.

            “And the initiation before that, when I was less involved with the initiation,” says Eric. “Everything that comes out of my mouth, he instantly disregards.”

            I think about that one and find a reason. Back before Tobias left Abnegation, while the Erudite haven’t released their antagonistic reports yet, there was still considerable tension between the two factions. As always, father told Caleb and I to avoid them and in our weekly meetings, Marcus advised us not to make friends with those who are by definition intelligent; for they would use what they know as a weapons against us. I believed that. That is, until I met the Erudite transfers in Dauntless. Until I got to know Eric.

            “In Abnegation, we were raised to be wary of the Erudite,” I tell him. “That anyone with intelligence is not someone to be trusted.”

            “I always thought that was part of it,” Eric tells me. “He thinks that my reasons probably constitute as untrustworthy, even though they were proven to be true.”


	8. Chapter Eight

                “The almanac did say it was going to be a hot summer,” says one of the fence guards as I did my mandatory overview patrol at the fence.

            It was no lie. It was the hottest summer so far. The mugginess of May only brought us a hot summer. It’s the middle of July and ninety degree weather. It is considered normal for this time of year, though I don’t remember it being this hot last July.

            I take out my handkerchief and wipe it on my sweaty forehead. “Tell me about it.”

            Though I was wearing a red shirt and one of Eric’s vests, I still felt like I was baking. Probably because of the pants I was wearing. I’ll be glad to take a shower and change into a tank top and boxer briefs for bed.

            I move along the balcony of the fence, examining the Amity compound that is panned out before me. Over there, its greener compared to the grass on the other side of the fence, which is dried and yellow. There hasn’t been much rain and because of that, the Erudite have made trips to Amity to supply them tools necessary to grow their crops. We still need to grow food to feed people within the city.

            I look up at the sky to see something glint against the sun before it disappears again. I wish I knew what that was but unfortunately, the only way to find out is if I go beyond the outer limits of the Dauntless patrols. Everyone knows that out beyond Amity, there are civilizations that haven’t been revitalized since the war.

            Even Will said it when we toured the fence during the first half of initiation.

            When I approach the panel to update about what’s been happening in the fence when I hear static on my headset. I put it to my face as I log my initials in the system.

            “Yes?” I ask.

            “Jeanine called,” Eric informs me. “She’s going to arrive in a half hour with three of her head scientists.”

            With three of her head scientists. She has five and there is probably a reason why she would exclude two of them. It has to be about that serum she’s been testing on Dauntless members every two weeks since April.

            “I’ve just finished my fence patrol,” I inform him. “I’ll be on my way.”

            I put down the headset and approach the stairwell leading to the ground below to get to Dauntless headquarters before Jeanine gets there with her three of Erudite’s five head scientists.

 

* * *

 

            “According to Veronica, everything down in the factionless sector is getting a little hectic,” Eric informs me as we stride to the conference room. “It’s a hot summer so tempers are going to flare up.”

            “Any information on the homicide rate?” I ask as we enter the conference room.

            “Thirty percent lower since last year so far,” Eric answers.

            In the conference room, at least its air conditioned but Max must have cranked it up because it feels like its forty degrees. Though I’m shivering and can now feel goosebumps, it’s better than feeling like I’m baking in an oven.

            Jeanine and her scientists appear in the allotted time. They sit at one end while the five of us sit at the other end of the table. Jeanine looks disturbingly satisfied about something.

            “I assume that no one is watching,” says Jeanine.

            “I ordered that the cameras in this room be decommissioned for today, so no one is watching us,” Eric replies, lacing his fingers together. If Eric ordered the cameras to be decommissioned, Jeanine must be up to something.

            “During the meeting we had in December, when we went over what to expect in this year, I assume that some of you thought that there was something missing,” says Jeanine.

            “It doesn’t take for an Erudite to notice that you were rather vague about the month of July,” says Veronica, carefully turning one of the piercings in her left eyebrow.

            “And rightfully so,” Jeanine replies, her lips curling into her trademark cool smile. She turns to the scientist on her left, “Dr. Gustavo, shall you explain to them about our recent development?”

            One of the scientists stands up from his chair and turns on the projector. “As you know, since October of last year, we have started developing a new brand of simulation serum,” he says as a picture comes up. “Once injected, the transmitters will be able to send messages to the brain upon activation. The individual will not know what they’re actually doing and will be in a simulated reality. Furthermore…”

            I drown out his voice, since I know what the simulation serum can do. It’s too much information to digest anyway. He tells us about the test subjects that we provided as well as the results.

            Once he is finished, there is silence. I register the faces of the other leaders. Eric, Veronica, and Max look rather uneasy. I feel rather uneasy as well.

            “We gave you the test subjects regarding the serum,” Max points out. “What is the intent to use such a serum anyway?”

            “A band of intellectuals isn’t an army, and I doubt that everyone in your faction will be willing to participate in what will be done. As for the target, I’m sure you know who it is,” says Jeanine.

            Hearing that, it’s like something breaks in me. I know who she wants to attack. She’s been writing antagonistic reports against my former faction for a year now.

            Eric knows too. “Abnegation. Is it against the Erudite manifesto to handle interfaction conflict with violence?”

            “We train our members to defend themselves, yes, but we don’t train them to be instruments of war,” Max points out. “Nor do we train them to kill innocent civilians.”

            “I fear that you have been living under a rock,” says Jeanine tersely. “Abnegation has done more harm to the system then good: removing Dauntless soldiers from the factionless sector for five years until one of you convinced them otherwise, harboring Divergents, refusing to have diversity in government. They are a strain to our resources like the factionless.”

            I feel something within me burst. I stand up and pound on the table. “This is murder! Mass murder of defenseless civilians that you are promoting.”

            “We’re not blind that both factions have been at loggerheads with each other since the start of the system, but what you’re advocating is genocide,” Eric argues, standing up. “Annihilating an entire faction is not the logical way to resolve a conflict. All you need to do –”

            “I would control your temper if I were you,” Jeanine interrupts. “This faction seems to have been a bad influence in that area.” She turns to me, looking stern. “Whatever lingering attachment you have towards Abnegation must disappear. It will reflect horribly on you if it didn’t.”

            Defeated, I sit back down. Eric scowls at her before sitting back in his chair.

            “If you agree to participate in this project, I promise that you will have roles in our new government,” says Jeanine.

            How sly; giving an offer one can’t possibly refuse. I look at the others for a response.

            “I think we could be of assistance,” says Max.

            Veronica and Ross nod, though Veronica looks like she’s biting her lip to prevent herself from saying anything. Hesitantly, I nod.

            Eric turns his head to look at her. He bites his lips before saying, “Sure.”

            “Excellent,” Jeanine beams. “I’ll have my assistant send you a list of supplies and instructions a few days’ time.”

            Looking back at those reports, if only we knew that this could be the result. But hindsight is twenty-twenty.

 

* * *

 

            I want to get Eric alone, but Jeanine requests that she wanted to speak with him in his office. I have no doubt that it’s about his initial protest about her plans.

            Anxious and fearing for his safety at the same time, I go to the control room on the eighth floor. Upon entering the control room, I see that there are only three people. Tobias is nowhere in sight.

            I stride over to his computer and log in using my account. I grab the set of headphones and turn the volume on as I access the camera feed. I rotate through the feeds. Most of it isn’t interesting, but I stop rotating the feed when I access the cameras located in Eric’s office.

            “You surprised me by that display, Mr. Matheson,” says Jeanine. “I know that the Abnegation are not your favorite people.”

            “Yes, however, I don’t wish death on the entire faction,” Eric argues. “If there is _one_ Abnegation that deserves getting the bullet to the head, it’s Marcus Eaton.”

            “I believe that Max informed me about your animosity towards Tobias Eaton,” Jeanine points out.

            “I hate _Four_ , I admit, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t wish death on the man that beat the tar out of him,” says Eric. “If my father belt-whipped me and abused me like that, I would put a bullet in his head.”

            That alone makes me want to cringe, though I wouldn’t necessarily blame Eric if he wanted to. If he had that upbringing.

            “What did I say about controlling your temper, Eric?” Jeanine asks him sternly.

            “You’re talking to someone from Dauntless,” Eric reminds her. “I’m going to lose my temper.”

            “Don’t forget that you merely transferred to Dauntless because I requested it,” says Jeanine, the tone of her voice ice cold. “Remember that without me pulling the strings, you would not have the status that you have.”

            “I would have become a Dauntless leader without you,” Eric spits out. “The selection process and the training that followed weren’t that difficult for me to begin with.”

 

* * *

 

            “Without my interference, Max would have given that position to Tobias Eaton,” says Jeanine. “If he didn’t transfer here, we wouldn’t have had this problem of Max wanting to appoint Tobias over you, and it took persuasion to have Max agree. I made you, and I could easily unmake you.”

            A chill runs through me at the threat. Eric’s expression becomes apathetic in response to it.

            “You know very well that if you didn’t accept my request, your mother would be deceased,” says Jeanine in a low voice. “To reiterate, your mother’s personality test result wasn’t entered into the system, and anyone with an unrecorded result is Divergent.”

            So, Eric’s mother is Divergent and she threatened to murder his mother if he didn’t help her go along with what she did? Sick.

Eric wasn’t lying when he told me that blackmail was involved. It wouldn’t surprise me anyway, considering the kind of person Jeanine is.

“Leave my mother out of this,” Eric seethes.

“If you show further resistance to this plan to fix our government, you will not only lose your mother.” Jeanine curves her lips in that cool smirk. “Imagine. Beatrice Prior’s body being lifted from the chasm. I will make it look like an accident or suicide.”

My stomach becomes increasingly nauseous at what just came out of her mouth. Jeanine is threatening me to trap Eric into her recent plans?

“Leave her out of it,” Eric hisses. “I don’t care if you want to kill Divergent rebel after Divergent rebel but leave my mother and Tris alone.”

“If you show no resistance, I will,” says Jeanine. “It would have been a waste anyway, since I pulled strings for Beatrice Prior to become appointed as well.”

I can’t watch this anymore. I log out of the system, remove my head phones, and leave the control room.

Slander is something that I expect Jeanine to do and she has done that, but I didn’t expect her to threaten to murder a loved one just so they could do what she wanted.

No wonder father hates her. She’s evil to the core.

 

* * *

 

“Tris? Are you alright?” Christina asks me during lunch.

“Yeah, just tired,” I lie. How can one tell their friend that they’re going to attack innocent people in a few months? It doesn’t seem possible.

Fortunately, Christina doesn’t press it and I just listen as others talk around me.

I keep pinching myself, hoping that it’s a dream. That it’s not real. I don’t want to participate in the destruction of my former faction. I don’t want to have any part in the murder of innocent men, women, and children.

When will the attack happen? Next month or is it after, when initiation will be over? I don’t want the initiates to get pulled into this after their initiation.

When I finish eating, I dump the remaining contents in the trash and stack the tray on top of the others before leaving the cafeteria. I need to find Eric. Surely we can do something to prevent this from happening, but the thing is Jeanine threatened me and his mother to prevent him from further resistance.

“Tris,” I hear Eric say from a few feet behind me.

I turn around to see him approaching me, looking anxious and wary for some reason. “What is it?”

“Something that no one else needs to hear about.” He takes my hand. “Come.”

He takes me from the Pit and leads me into an empty corridor towards a locked door. He takes out his ring of keys and uses the master key to unlock the door. We walk into the room and when Eric turns on the light, I see that it’s a custodial closet.

Eric closes the door and puts the chair under the doorknob.

“Tris, I want you to listen to me,” he says.

I nod.

“I understand that it’s been an almost a year since you transferred from Abnegation and that you have some lingering attachment towards them,” he says. “However, during the next month or two, you need to cooperate. Go along with it. Doing anything that would sabotage it would put you at risk of retaliation.”

I guess this is his solution to Jeanine’s threat. That doing anything would sabotage my safety. However, when it comes to his inaction regarding those who will die, I feel something freeze inside me.

“So, we’re just going to stand and do nothing as Jeanine winds Dauntless members up like tin soldiers to murder members of my former faction?” I demand. “We have to do something. Stop it somehow without getting caught.”

“You think it’s that easy?” he demands, his voice cold. “I thought of every scenario, all of them ending disastrous. If we stop the simulation attack, even halfway, guess what? The results will spell danger for you. Danger for me. I can’t have that.”

“This is my former faction we’re talking about,” I argue. “We can’t let Jeanine have her way and kill innocent people.”

“Stop acting like you know Jeanine,” Eric argues, raising his voice; his tone abrasive. “You don’t know what she’s fully capable of. I know things about her that will make your hair curl. She can do far worse than slandering an entire faction. Or is part of that Stiff stupidity still engrained in your brain?”

The last sentence wasn’t unnecessary. It wasn’t needed. Looking at Eric, I see the man I knew when I first stepped in here. I have spent so much time with him that I forgot this part of him: the Dauntless leader capable of saying cruel, terrible things. It’s like the words he said when I first met him after Tobias introduced us: _Ooh, a Stiff. We’ll see how long you last_. Only a tad worse.         

“You don’t mean it,” I seethe before spitting out. “How come I almost forgot about this part of you? The part of you where you say cruel things to people.”

I push past him and yank the chair away to get out of the room. Right now, I need to keep my distance from him. For some time.


	9. Chapter Nine

            That night, I don’t go to the apartment after my shift. Instead, I go to the rooftop of the Pire. I let the breeze of the summer evening hit me as I watch the sun go down the horizon.

            I sit down, looking at the scene panned out in front of me.

            I play his words in my head over and over in my head.

            “ _Or is part of that Stiff stupidity still engrained in your brain?”_

One thing I noticed about him, even though Eric got himself in a relationship with me, the Abnegation transfer, he still has this bias against the Abnegation. He voices his criticisms of their practices from time to time and he uses Tobias’s roots against him from time to time. Though he vocalized his opposition regarding the attack before Jeanine threatened him, it’s not going to bother him.

            As for me, I still haven’t gotten over some of my prejudice against the Erudite. After I met Will, Edward, got to know Eric, and lived with Caleb who transferred to Erudite, I started believing that maybe all of the Erudite are not that bad. That they are not all like Jeanine. However, whenever I see Jeanine, it’s like my newfound hope is challenged. I find it hard what to believe sometimes that I go back and forth sometimes between what I previously thought of the Erudite to what I learned. Though the former wasn’t as bad as it was when I first arrived here as an initiate.

            I guess somethings we can’t remove from our mindsets even after we are shown otherwise.

            As for Eric, he still retained that arrogance even at the start of our relationship. Arrogance is one of the flaws in the Erudite heart – I know. It is often in mine. Just like how the Dauntless flaw of pride is in mine.

            I hear the hatch to the roof open but I don’t turn to see who it is.

            “Tris?” I hear Eric ask me with uncertainty.

            “I’m here,” I say quietly. I hear the hatch door close after him and he sits down beside me.

            “Here to watch the sunset?” he asks me.

            I scoff, looking over at him, and demand, “Is it obvious.”

            He paused before saying, “I shouldn’t have said that back there. You know, the part about the Stiff stupidity?”

            “That _was_ unnecessary,” I remind him.

            “Well, I came out to apologize,” he says. “It doesn’t take it back but I didn’t want to come off as insincere.”

            “Apology accepted,” I say.

            He pauses before he tells me, “You know, you can warn your parents a few nights before it actually happens. You can’t save anyone else since it would be dangerous, but you can at least warn your parents. Maybe one of them will see the writing on the wall a few weeks prior.”

            It’s comforting that he is not against me warning my parents but I don’t want others to get killed. Just warning my parents is rather selfish.

            “Yes, but it wouldn’t help that others would get killed as well,” I tell him.

            “I know you’re not going to like it, but you’re going to have to cooperate,” he tells me sternly; he puts his hands on my arms to turn my torso so I could face him. “ _I’m_ going to have to cooperate. I don’t want any participation in this as well, but getting out of the situation and even sabotaging it is going to be dangerous for the both of us. Besides, helping your parents is better than helping none of them.”

            I understand what he’s saying but I just don’t want to help my parents only. I want to save a few Abnegation, but if I say that, it would be the beginning of another argument and I can’t afford that.

            “I understand,” I tell him.

            I just hope I don’t become a nervous wreck by the time of initiation.

 

* * *

 

            “Oh, this is going to be fun,” I say to myself as I gaze at the computer. Apparently there is a big mess with the code that it’s creating errors in one of the computer programs. It’s going to take at least an hour to fix.

            I begin to fix the first error when the phone rings. Crap. What is it now?

            I pick up the phone from the receiver. “Yeah?”

            “Do you have your hands full?” Eric asks me.

            “I’m in the process of fixing this giant error of the code for one of the computer programs,” I tell him. “What is it that you need?”

            “Max wants all of us down in the Pit,” Eric says. “Apparently we had a jumper.”

            A chill runs down my spine. Someone actually jumped or is this another nightmare like the last one? I pinch myself twice only to make my arm sore.

            “Alright,” I say. “I’ll be down there shortly.”

            That program has to wait then, since we’re dealing with an incident involving a jumper.

 

* * *

 

            There is already a crowd of people surrounding the chasm when I go down to the Pit. Not again. I don’t want another incident that mirrors Al’s suicide during initiation. We can’t afford another incident like that.

            I join Max, Eric, and the other two Dauntless leaders by the chasm and we look down at the rushing black waters hitting the stone. On that stone, I see the body of a man lying like a rag doll; his legs and arms bent in a unnatural position.

            “What happened?” I ask.

            “Four called Max and said that he saw a man jump into the chasm,” says Eric. “Tori Wu saw it happen when she returned from her lunch break and alerted the control room wondering if they saw it.’

            “Was there a reason why he jumped?” Veronica asks. I watch from my peripheral vision as Dauntless men bring in the ropes to drop down into the Pit to hoist the body up.

            “From what I heard, he had some mental problems prior,” says Max. “He wasn’t the same since he hit his head after falling five feet.”

            “Brain damage, you reckon?” Eric asks him.

            “I wouldn’t doubt it,” Max answers.

            I watch as they bring the corpse up from the depths of the chasm. He didn’t appear too old. Possibly in his earlier twenties. Though it sounds terrible, at least he will not be wound up like a tin soldier.

            That’s one less for Jeanine.

 

* * *

 

            I turn the lid of the jar as I try to open a jar of peaches. Once I manage to screw the lid off the jar, I hear Eric swear and he plops the evening paper in frustration.

            “A percentage of the reporters must have an IQ of a Lower Levels student, considering the drivel that was published today,” he says.

            “What did they write this time?” I begin mixing the peach slices with the cantaloupe and watermelon.

            “Apparently, someone thinks that we should go to the old way of teaching the dependents in separate schools,” says Eric as he stands up from the couch. “Obviously he didn’t know that it only increased tension between the factions that they had to teach dependents in the same schools.”

            I snort. “Is that another piece of their anti-Abnegation propaganda?”

            “Possibly if they want to have separate schooling for the dependents,” says Eric. “The propaganda will die down once the scheduled attack gets nearer.”

            Wanting to avoid the topic of genocide, I say, “I’m almost finished with the fruit bowl.” I approach the refrigerator to retrieve the blueberries. “All I need to do is add the blueberries.”

            When I take the carton from the refrigerator, Eric says, “You can’t avoid reality, Tris. It’s not very healthy.”

            “If Erudite were getting attacked instead of Abnegation, I’m sure you wouldn’t want to dwell on it either,” I point out.

            “You know the saying _Ignorance is bliss_?” Eric asks me, raising his right eyebrow. “Blissful ignorance is a dangerous thing. If you are willfully ignorant of something, you are unprepared to deal with it. I’d rather worry about what was going to happen and agonize over it then try to push it out of my head.”

            “I’m not trying to push it out of my head,” I argue, slamming the carton of blueberries on the counter. “You think I’m that stupid?”

            “You’re not stupid,” he says. “Are you still sore after I said that drivel to you a few days ago?”

            “Well, you’re lecturing me like I am,” I argue. “I know that I can’t escape from reality. It’s just that I don’t want to dwell on it all the time.”

            “You’re being ridiculous,” he mutters understand his breathe.

            “If it was your former faction that Jeanine was targeting, you’d understand,” I point out. “But no, that be illogical since she’s the main representative of Erudite, therefore the Erudite being an illogical target.”

            Eric leans across the counter and slams his fists on the table. “You think I’m that ignorant? That I don’t want to understand?”

            I sighed. It’s like the two of us want the final word of this argument. We’re both stubborn and arrogant like that.

            “I know you’re not ignorant but – ” I say.

            “You claim that I don’t understand,” he interrupts. “For pete’s sakes, Tris! You can’t have it both ways!”

            “Don’t you dare interrupt me when I’m speaking, Eric Matheson!” I say, raising my voice that way I’m on equal footing with him.

            “Don’t you dare challenge me!” He pounds his fist on the table. “Do you have any idea who you’re talking to?”

            “Do you?” I point to the tattoo running down my neck. “It’s not like I didn’t get this for no reason!”

            Eric blows air from his nose and walks away from the counter. “Fine. Be that way.”

            For the first time as a couple, the two of us went to bed stewing with anger. Something that they say that couples should avoid.

 

* * *

 

            The next morning when I get up, I see that Eric is absent from his side of the bed. Hopefully he’s at one of the training rooms venting his anger out at one of the punching bags. We both went to bed angry last night.

            I prepare coffee and when I was halfway with breakfast, the door opens and Eric comes in; his knuckles split and bloody.

            “What’s for breakfast?” he says hopefully, looking at the stove.

            “Hash brown patties, eggs, and sausage,” I answer. “I added the cheese just how you like them.”

            “Excellent.” He sits at the kitchen table. “Made coffee while I was gone?”

            I take a mug from the cabinet and pour coffee into it. “Here.” I give him the steaming mug of coffee.

            “Thanks,” he says as I return to the breakfast on the stove.

            “Feeling better since last night?” he asks.

            “Probably not as good as you,” I tell him with all honesty.

            “They say that couples shouldn’t go to bed angry,” says Eric. “Guess what we did? It was my fault anyway.”

            “How was it your fault?” I ask him.

            “I started the argument when you changed the subject,” he tells me. “I shouldn’t have brought it up if you didn’t want to think about it at the moment.”

            “That’s better than saying that it was my fault,” I tell him.

            “We’re both stubborn,” he points out. “You wanted the final word to the argument as much as I did.”

            “I noticed that too,” I say. “Part of being Dauntless, I reckon.”

            “Stubbornness is the Dauntless flaw,” he points out. “When one is stubborn, they tend to have aptitude for Dauntless.”

 

* * *

 

            “So the homicide rate is dwindling since we brought the Dauntless back into the factionless sector?” I ask after I stepped into the first zone of the factionless sector.

            “Approximately thirty five percent,” my companion answers, looking at his tablet. “With temperatures like these though, we had to prevent altercations from getting severe.”

            I nod, examining the zone that we were standing in. A few factionless were sitting against the siding of a nearby building; eating from steaming cups and passing them around. The Abnegation are here giving out food and clothing from the looks of it.

            “The Abnegation are here, am I correct?” I ask.

            “Like they always do.”

            “Well, I’m going to survey the zones,” I say. “Make sure that nothing has changed from now.”

            Zone One is quiet. Just factionless eating food or picking up scraps from remnants of a meal. I remember when I was as young as five, the concept of factionlessness was new to me. I wondered why there were people who didn’t seem to have a home; who dressed in the colors of all the factions. I asked this to mother out of…you could say Erudite curiosity.

            “They are people who haven’t passed initiation,” mother answered gravely at the time.

            “They weren’t accepted?” I ask.

            “Not everyone belongs in the faction they chosen,” she answered. “They either didn’t conform or they had a hard time understanding the virtue of the faction. It’s a depressing reality but there is nothing we can about it. All we can do is to help them survive.”

            I have accepted the belief that the factionless needed help, though I was naïve enough to believe that they didn’t need policing either. Since the factionless are the most vulnerable in the city, they need protection from the Dauntless just as those categorized within factions do.

            I enter Zone Two, which is more occupied by factionless then Zone One, but that’s because they have just got their warm meals from the Abnegation members. A pair of factionless children, who are carrying canned goods, spare me one glance before running into the building next to them like mice.

            I sighed. Unfortunately I probably appear menacing to these people. Especially if they were taught by former Dauntless members that the neck tattoo signifies that the individual is a Dauntless leader. Personally, I consider myself dangerous to others if they make the wrong move. I’ve witnessed and experienced terrible things during Dauntless initiation that I have become a hardened individual. I am one that shouldn’t be messed with.

            “Look who made her way to the top after initiation?” I hear a vaguely familiar voice ask.

            I abruptly turn around and see a blond factionless boy with an eye patch. However, I see that I recognize him from initiation.

            “Edward?” I ask, taking one step forward.

            “I look different with the eye patch, do I?” he asks.

            “Just a little,” I say.

            “I never knew that Peter would use a butter knife to get what he wanted, since they are dull blades.” Edward shrugs. “But any knife could be seen as a weapon.”

            I shudder, remembering that night when the attack happened. “Peter had a high ranking complex,” I admit. “You weren’t the only victim that got attacked by him because he was so eager to rank first.”

            “Yeah, I heard about that,” Edward replies. “One of the former Dauntless leaders talked about how you were nearly tossed over the chasm after the stage two rankings were released.”

            I would have known that Jackie would have talked about it with a percentage of the factionless. That doesn’t surprise me at all.

            “Peter would have succeeded if Eric hadn’t caught him and beat him up.” I smile at the image of Peter limping into the dining hall the morning after, like he was run over by a train as Will commented. “It was as if a train had hit him.”

            Edward smirked. “That was something that I wish I would have seen.”

            “Miss?” someone asks me.

            Unwillingly, I turn away from Edward and turn towards the Dauntless soldier addressing me. “What is it?”

            “Do you feel safe around that guy?” he asks, looking confused.

            “I knew him during initiation,” I answer. “Besides, were you questioning the ability to defend myself?”

            The boy steps back. “I wasn’t.”

            “Hm,” I say. “Then you must not waste your time with stupid questions.”

            He doesn’t say anything, prompting me to move on and to collect data regarding Zone 2. Again, less incidents of assault and homicide.


	10. Chapter Ten

            “I told you the men underestimate the women,” Lynn says during lunch after I filled them in on my overview patrol of the factionless sector. “They don’t see the women as a threat during initiation and it pervades even after that.”

            “Well, during the first ten years of the faction system, Dauntless was a male exclusive faction,” Will says, his mouth practically full.

            “Try not to choke,” Jocelyn says, raising her eyebrow. “It’s never safe to talk while eating. Surely you would know that.”

            Will swallowed and continued, “They eventually discovered that they needed women to keep the faction going and decided to include them as well; with the founder saying that women and men were equal.”

            “Yeah, and were still underestimated by the men,” Lynn grumbles. She glares at Eric. “I knew that there was a reason anyway about why this faction contains so much testosterone even with the number of women members.”

            “That is not necessarily true,” says Eric.

            “Out of all the factions, its initiation has the most masculine undertone to it,” says Lynn. “As I said, the guys don’t see the girls as a threat during initiation. That’s why I partially shaved my head.”

            “Change of subject, any new developments that we should expect this year?” Zeke asks.

            It’s like an iron weight dropped to my stomach at that question. They don’t know. They don’t know what Jeanine and few of her scientists are up to. They don’t know what will happen.

            “The only changes involve initiation,” Eric replies, his tone indicating that no one should speak on the subject again. I slouch in relief, though Tobias looks at Eric like he doubts that the changes in initiation are the only changes they’ll be in Dauntless.

            “Are you telling the truth?” Tobias demands.

            “Only an idiot would be a skeptic,” Eric hisses. “If you knew of secret plans, which there aren’t, you wouldn’t be sitting here.”

            “Eric, don’t threaten committing homicide at the table,” I warn him. Especially when we’re in earshot of other Dauntless members. However, considering Eric’s reputation, no one would be surprised.

 

* * *

 

            After lunch, the first thing I check is to see if there are any messages on my account inbox, since Jeanine said that her assistant would be delivering us the plans and maps regarding the attack.

            Upon going into my inbox, I see that there are at least three new messages. The first one from Erudite with the subject labeled as Project Damocles. I could understand the naming. The idiom “Sword of Damocles” means any situation threatening imminent harm or disaster.

            The things I learn from reading books.

            I click on the top message and read _Save these on your secure files._

In the corner, are a series of attachments. I click on the first one. It’s a street map with numbers; the numbers being addresses of homes. With a pang I recognize it as the map to the Abnegation sector. I see red dots over the addresses where my parents, Marcus Eaton, and homes of three other councilmembers are labeled. The red means ‘areas of interest’.

            For what?

            My question is answered when I click on the second attachment. It’s a diagram of a trapezoid shaped box, with each of the four of the five factions on the sides while the other is on the top. The description reads: _During the founding of the faction system, the founders recorded a message to its inhabitants. However, the box has been lost for two hundred years and the content of the message is unknown to this day. It’s said that the only way for the message to be unlocked is if an individual with strong neurodivergence were connected to a simulation program._

What?

            Under the description is a small list of people to which are suspected of being in possession of the box. The same whose homes are listed as areas of interest on the map.

            _Marcus Eaton: For the main representative of all fifty councilmembers is most likely in possession of The Box._

            _Natalie and Andrew Prior: If it wasn’t in Marcus’s possession, he’d trust it to his closest colleague. Also, though unproven, it’s believed that Natalie Prior nee Wright wasn’t a born citizen of the city since there was no trace of her paternal lineage on the Prior family tree. If true, she would know the contents of the message and what lies outside the farms of Amity. There is also a strong likelihood of the Priors having possession of The Box._

            I nearly fall out of my chair as I reread the sentence: **_though unproven, it’s believed that Natalie Prior nee Wright wasn’t a born citizen of the city since there was no trace of her paternal lineage on the Prior family tree._** How could the Erudite say that she wasn’t born in that city when records show that she was born in Dauntless? I don’t understand that.

            As for the Prior family tree, factions where most of the members of a family resided have possession of the family tree. I then remembered what Caleb said last year when he came to visit here with Jeanine.

            _“The Prior name has history in Erudite.”_

How could I have almost forgotten that? How could I almost forgotten about Caleb saying that our family has history in Erudite? I was so focused on passing leadership training that I didn’t think about that. Uriah’s death pulled me away from that as well.

            As I exited out of the second attachment and opened the third one, which was a list of supplies, I picked up the phone and dialed the number to Erudite headquarters. I hate to do this but I’m going to have to.

            The phone rings four times before I hear a crisp voice ask, “Hello?”

            “Hello, this is Tris Prior, one of the five Dauntless leaders,” I answer. “Could you connect me to Jeanine Matthews?”

            “Yes, ma’am,” I hear before being put on hold. I hear soft instrumental music play as I wait. I see a white light indicating an incoming call before pressing a button so they can leave a message. Whatever it was, they have to wait before I call back. If it was Eric I would have to explain to him sooner or later.

            “Yes, Beatrice?” I hear Jeanine ask. “Is there anything that would require my assistance?”

            Just talking to her makes my skin crawl and my insides writhe. She’s going to be the reason why most of my former faction will be murdered by the masses. However, I have no choice considering what I just might have discovered.

            “I just want to ask if I could receive copies of my family tree,” I say. “A few months ago, Caleb said that the Prior name has history in Erudite, so naturally your faction would be in possession of the Prior family tree.”

            I hear a pause from Jeanine before she asks, “Does this have to do with the theory that your mother was most likely not born in the city?”

            “Yes,” I say.

            “Typically at this stage, since you have already settled into your faction of choice, family trees are withheld since they would complicate faction before blood,” Jeanine explains. “However, if you wish to have access to your family tree, I could make an exception and have the archivists send you a digital copy of the family tree.”

            “That will be great,” I say just as the door opens. It’s Eric. “I have to go.”

            “I appreciate that I could be of assistance,” Jeanine says when I hang up.

            “Why didn’t you pick up the phone?” Eric asks me as I turn back to my computer screen. 

            I turn back to him. “Was it that important?”

            “Max wants to speak with you,” Eric spits out. “Now.”

            A lump forms in my throat. Have they overheard my conversation with Jeanine? Do they consider me a faction traitor for wanting access to my family tree? I have to meet him in his office to avoid any more trouble.

            “I wonder who it was that was the cause of your demeanor,” I ask, taking note of his current mood.

            “It wouldn’t be hard to guess,” Eric tells me as I leave my office.

 

* * *

 

            “Come in,” I hear Max encourage after I knock on the wooden door.

            I turn the knob and push the door open. Max was reading his copy of the Erudite Gazette, though when he sees me he folds the newspaper and lays it on the papers of his cluttered desk. It’s still weird to see Max surrounded by papers.

            “Have a seat, Tris,” he says warmly, giving an indication that I’m not in trouble.

           However, when never knows, as someone could be angry with you yet hide it with amiability. I take a seat in front of his desk and fold my hands on my lap.

            “Am I in any trouble?” I ask.

            “No, Tris,” he says. “First off, how is the position of Dauntless leadership treating you?”

            “Um, great,” I answer, not knowing what to think of this question. “It’s not easy but it’s not like it’s supposed to be easy.”

            “You’re doing an excellent job for someone who has been here a year, in my opinion,” Max notes. “You’ve done an impressive job compared to the last person we’ve appointed.”

            I’m glad that he thinks that I’m doing a good job, though the usage of _for someone who has been here a year_ puts a slight damper on it. It was like they were unsure of my capabilities at first.

            As for Max’s last sentence, I knew that he was talking about Eric. Sometimes I would get the impression that Max does not like Eric. Especially with the hesitation he would regard him with before letting him continue the discussion from the Dauntless side. I hear that Max is still asking Tobias if he is interested in joining the rank of leadership, even though there are no openings and considering the fact that there could only be five Dauntless leaders at a time. That meant that Max wants to replace Eric behind Jeanine’s back.

Eric is lucky that Tobias has been turning him down; though Eric is not happy with the attempts to replace him. It would be dangerous to his safety as well if Max replaced him.

“I see,” I say, trying not to sound cool. Being the oldest of the five leaders, Max is the head honcho and makes the final decisions in this faction.

“Making difficult decisions is part of participating in the leadership,” he notes thoughtfully. “Sometimes we do things that we don’t want to but have to carry out in order to maintain the society we have.”

I know he’s referring to the Erudite’s latest plan to attack the Abnegation. What’s nauseating is that Max implied it was necessary, even though he initially objected to the plan just like Eric and I. I don’t approve how Max allows himself to have Jeanine persuade him to commit acts that suit her agenda. A true Dauntless won’t allow Jeanine to have her way.

However, considering that Jeanine is capable of blackmail to get what she wants out of that individual and that she is manipulative, Max is probably not the only one she sunk her claws in.

“Look, it was really stupid of me to protest like that a few days ago,” I say. “I shouldn’t have even –”

“I understand your frustration considering the matter,” Max interrupts. “It’s going to be a year that you have transferred to this faction and around that time period, transfers still have lingering attachments to their former faction. They are allowed to visit their former faction after initiation for Visiting Day but after the second year they can’t. It’s part of the separation process.”

“So, you’re saying…?” I ask, raising my eyebrow.

“It’s not unusual for you to still have lingering attachments towards your former faction at this time,” he says. “You don’t have to be in the Abnegation sector on the day of the simulated attack. You can, if you wish, remain in the Pire to get ahead with paperwork. No one would hold it against you.”

It’s nice to hear someone giving you the option to not participate in something that makes you uncomfortable. I don’t want to be there to witness the mass murder of innocents. However, since Jeanine has sunk her claws into Max, I shouldn’t trust him. It could be very well a trick.

So I answer: “No, it’s not like anyone could possibly be here to receive the paperwork.”

“If you change your mine, feel free to come to me,” says Max. “No one would hold it against you.”

I won’t because Max would likely tell Jeanine my decision to pull from the planned attack just so he could avoid her wrath.

 

* * *

 

“Wow, this is going to leave the city council with tied hands,” says Will as he looks at the evening paper as Eric and I approach our usual table. “Looks like the reporters are on rule number eight.”

Wondering what she was saying this time, I rip the paper from Will’s hands. Like before, it was Anti-Abnegation propaganda, only advocating that we shouldn’t give our share of old clothing to the Abnegation, for they would not give them to the factionless.

“IDIOTS!” I shout, ripping the paper into two pieces. “It’s like they don’t want the Abnegation to do their job.”

I sit down, throwing the torn newspapers in the center of the table before picking up my hamburger.

“What do you mean by rule number eight?” asks Christina.

“According to my sister, Jeanine gives her closest associates and the Erudite journalists copies of Saul Alinsky’s _Rules for Radicals_ ,” says Will. “Apparently they are using his tactics for journalism.”

“There is one way to use his tactics and that is for radical revolutions to overthrow the establishment,” says Eric. “They are not compatible with journalism. Too radical for the sort.”

“Who’s he?” Hector asks.

“Some guy from the twentieth centuries who founded the no-longer practiced community organizing,” answers Will. “You wouldn’t know who he was unless you were born in Erudite.”

“What is rule 8 exactly?” asks Christina incredulously, raising her eyebrow.

“ _Keep the pressure on. Never let up_ ,” says Will. “In other words they are not letting up in these reports.”

“Just a few days ago they wrote a report about how dependents should be schooled separately.” Eric snorts. “Educating the kids separately is what contributed to the problems with interfaction relations. Anyone who remembers what they learned in Faction History would remember that.”

“I do,” says Christina, as she puts ketchup on her hamburger.

“Yet the Erudite who are hardcore when it comes to hating the Abnegation probably support that article,” I mutter darkly before taking a bite into my burger. I’m not in surprised if a percentage of Erudite parents have pulled their children from their schools.

“Apparently, half of my Erudite classmates are no longer attending class and some teachers have abandoned their desks,” says Hector, echoing my thoughts. “We just got a new Biology teacher.”

The part of Erudite teachers abandoning their posts is what causes me to drop my half eaten burger onto my tray. Seriously? There are teachers intolerant enough that they actually abandoned their posts?

“If they dislike the Stiffs, why would they bother to get a license?” Eric questions, rolling his eyes. “When you teach, one can’t be selective. You have what you get.”

“A certain portion of Erudite are bigots who claim they are open minded yet act like intolerant jackasses,” says Jocelyn. “They should remove their heads from their butts.”

Unfortunately, it’s going to get worse in a few months.


	11. Chapter Eleven

            The next morning, I wake up to the buzzer, though my body is sore from last night. After dinner last night, Eric thought that I needed some recreational distraction. In his opinion, that was sex.       

It felt good, though it wasn’t enough to abate any tension that I had.

“Sore, Stiff?” Eric asks me from his side of the bed.

“Not too badly,” I answer. I swing my legs around the bed and stand on my feet. I go around the bed and pick up the shirt that was on the floor.

“Since you’re able to move around, I’m going to get showered and dressed as well,” he says, and I hear him leave the bed. I shrug on his pair of pants before leaving the bedroom for the kitchen to begin brewing the morning coffee.

I turn on the kitchen light and open the cupboard to get the coffee filters to begin brewing the coffee. Once I got the coffee brewing, I go into the bathroom to begin showering.

Since Eric got in first, he is the one who leaves the shower stall first. After I get dressed and freshen up, I smell him beginning to fry bacon as I go back to the kitchen.

“What do you want with your bacon?” he asks me.

“Scrambled eggs and French toast,” I answer.

“Do you want cheese in your eggs or no?” he inquires further, arching his eyebrow.

I smile. “Yes, with the cheese.”

He chuckles as he returns to the task at hand. I go over to the fridge to retrieve the eggs, bread, and milk.

“Looks like I’m convincing you to stop acting like such a Stiff,” he says with a smirk as I place the ingredients needed on the counter next to the stove.

I snort. “It’s not like I fully recovered from being a Stiff, you know.” I turn to him. “It’s been at least a year since I have transferred from Abnegation. How many years are you going to be away from Erudite? Three?”

“Yes, though I’m guilty for retaining certain Erudite habits,” he says.

“You seem to not distance yourself from books,” I tell him. “That is one of the few habits you retained.”

“As I say, old habits die hard,” he replies. For breakfast, we eat bacon, cheesy scrambled eggs, and French toast with pomegranate grape juice to wash it down with. Full and content, I report to my office, knowing that I have to check things over before going over to the control room to analyze the feed.

There were no messages waiting for me on the phone, though I check my inbox to make sure that I might have any new messages, especially from Erudite. Upon going into my inbox, I see that the first thing listed is something from Erudite; from their archive department no doubt.

The message read: _Use at your own discretion_ and I click on the attachment.

The family tree is at least eight generations long, dating back from the founding period to now. The first generation consists of five people. Edith Prior married to George Hawthorne; Nicholas Prior married to Andrea Herondale; then there was Matthew Prior, who didn’t marry. All of them Erudite.

I frown. Though certain names can be used for more than one faction, Edith is solely an Abnegation name. However, I shrug it off. This was during the founding of the faction system, so names were most likely not faction sanctified at the time. That would explain it.

I continue to scroll down looking at the generations of the Prior family tree, revealing that while most of the family was Erudite, there were outliers in Abnegation and Candor. When I get to my parents, I notice with a shock that father was born in Erudite.

I snort. That can’t be true. Especially since he vehemently despised them and raised Caleb and I to vehemently despise them as well.

Except: He never talked about his family or his childhood. People who transfer never do.

Except: He does not have the quiet demeanor of someone who grew up in Abnegation.

Except: His hated of Erudite is so vehement it must be _personal_.

Personal to where he most likely suppressed his intelligence in front of others as to not reveal his Erudite roots. Most likely, he did it out of shame. Shame for the fact that he was born in Erudite. What had happened in Erudite that has caused him to despise the faction and paint every Erudite in one broad stroke?

Looking over at my mother’s side, it said that she was born in Dauntless; born to Coleen Wright, who was a Dauntless leader at the time. However, it doesn’t show who her father was. The reason why the Erudite are suspicious of her lineage is because there is no trace of her paternal lineage.

If so, where was she born?

 

* * *

 

I’m greeted by the screens displaying various parts of the city as I enter the control room. Looking at one screen, I see that in one of the zones the factionless sector, the guards are doing their usual patrol, though I see no sign of factionless.

“Apparently there has been no sign of them for a hour,” says Gus, who notices that I have been looking at that particular screen. “The other feed showing the factionless sector has been the same.”

“Are they organizing or something?” I ask, trying to think of a reason why there is no sign of the factionless at the moment.

Gus shrugs. “Could be, but seeing no factionless for a hour is better than seeing them trying to kill each other.”

I don’t know but personally I would be more worried with them absent then hearing reports of a botched assault in the factionless sector. Being that they are the group that is stomped on in this city, one would think they would organize and revolt. Unless they are waiting for the right conditions.

Going to a vacant computer, I see that Tobias is in here, concentrating on what he is seeing. He looks away from the screen when I sit two computers away from him.

“Morning, Tris,” he greets.

“Morning,” I say. I place the headphones on my ears and log into my account.

“The factionless sector is too quiet,” he observes thoughtfully.

“You think they are organizing?” I ask, turning my glance towards him.

“Maybe,” says Tobias. “Maybe not.”

I simply shrug and access the feed. The first feed that comes up is the Abnegation sector. Seeing its immaculate streets chokes me up, as I know that one day in a few months, it will be littered with bodies. The fact that I can’t do anything about it as Eric deemed it too dangerous makes it worse. I want to save more people than just my parents.

Seeing that there is nothing wrong with the feed, I move on.

“Any developments from Erudite?” Tobias asks me.

“Nothing,” I lie. “What makes you think that?”

“Erudite and Dauntless are on good terms with each other are they not?” Tobias asks.

“Four, no more questions,” I say abrasively, indicating that no more should be said. Tobias lapses in silence, though he’s probably thinking about what to say or even wondering how to get more information. He’s the suspicious type.

I go through multiple camera feeds, correcting the size and resolution of faulty feeds in order to correct them. Once that was done, I log off and remove the headphones from my ears. Now I can go back to my office to start with any paperwork I have.

I leave the control room and when I approach the elevator, I see that Tobias is walking beside me.

“Four, I don’t have any time to discuss initiation plans,” I stress, not bothering to look at him. “Maybe later today but not now.”

“It’s not about initiation,” he insists when we stop at the elevator door.

“Then what?” I snap, as I jab the button to the tenth floor. “This better be worthwhile because I don’t want you to waste my time.”

“You must know something is going on,” Tobias says. “Especially when Jeanine showed up a few days ago with only three of her head scientists.”

I bite my lip. The cameras of the conference room were decommissioned that day because Jeanine didn’t want anyone eavesdropping on what they were going to say. What was it about her presence that gave away the idea that Erudite is up to something?

“I can’t answer that,” I tell him stiffly as the elevator door opens. “It’s highly classified information.”

I step into the elevator, only for Tobias to follow me in. “Then give me a hint. It’s not like they’ll find out.”

Is Tobias really that stupid? Doesn’t he know that my career and my life could be jeopardized even if I do give a hint? Jeanine would kill me and stage it as an accident as a result.

“For someone born a Stiff, you are very selfish to even say that,” I say, imitating Eric’s passive aggressiveness and to see how the slang sounds coming from my mouth. “Let alone think that.”

Tobias steps back. “I see that Eric has been a bad influence on you. You’re not the same girl who jumped first.”

“You didn’t even know me when I jumped into the net,” I point out in agitation. The elevator doors slide open and I walk out into the tenth floor. “Just because I originated from the same faction as you does not mean you know me well.”

He lapses into silence before saying, “Still, I need to know what’s going on. You’re the last person who would react on the defensive.”

“Drop it, Four!” I shout. “Go back to the control room or we’ll both be in trouble for not doing our work.”

I go into my office and slam the door on his face before locking it. I go straight to my desk and sit down, opening my manila folder to begin today’s paperwork. As I get out my pen, I think about my argument with Tobias. Perhaps I should tell him what’s going to happen. He should know if it’s bothering him.

However, concerning that Jeanine threatened Eric that she go after me and his mother if he rebelled and that no one else is supposed to know, it puts my position and my life in jeopardy.

Therefore, it’s not safe to tell him. Nothing will be safe after Jeanine is certain that most of Abnegation is annihilated. There will be no peace either.

 

* * *

 

“In a couple of months, this would be a year since we’ve been here,” says Christina during lunch. “I feel older then I was when I stepped in here.”

“Do you mean a year since we arrived as initiates or a year since we became full-fledged members?” Will asks her, like a typical Erudite wanting specifics.

Christina elbows him in the ribs, her facial expression a mixture of irritation and amusement. “What is it with the former Erudite retaining some of their habits?”

“If you were raised with loose lips or reading everything in sight, it’s going to be hard to keep that habit,” says Lynn bluntly. “Even if you transfer and change factions.”

“Loose lips?” asks Christina. “Is that supposed to be insulting?”

“I never understand the Candor in the first place,” scoffs Lynn. “I’d rather get into my fear landscape then telling people what was on my mind all the time.”

“Loose lips aside, did you hear that the factionless sector was devoid of factionless for a hour and half?” Shauna asks me.

“Yeah,” I answer, putting down my fork. “I noticed it this morning when I went to the control room to analyze the feed.”

“You think they were organizing?” asks Will. “We’re overdue for a factionless revolt.”

“Why would the factionless revolt?” asks Lynn, like the idea was ludicrous. “The Stiffs give them food and clothing. Not to mention that we have to protect them from themselves.”

“I have to agree with Will on this one,” says Eric, who sits beside me. “I find it peculiar that they haven’t rebelled yet. One would think they would after years of oppression.”

“Maybe they are waiting for the right time to revolt,” Jocelyn chimes in. “Maybe they are waiting for a time where the factions are too busy to even pay attention to what they’re doing.”

“That is most likely possible,” says Eric. “Right now it would be dangerous to start a revolution with the Dauntless in the factionless sector.”

Coming to think of it, I wonder if the factionless sense that something is going to happen and they are beginning to organize for when the Abnegation genocide starts or after even. It’s going to be a dangerous environment if the factionless revolt, especially when you know that the factionless consists of former Dauntless members. The former members of Dauntless probably taught the factionless how to take apart weapons and even how to use them.

Jeanine’s ruthless scheme will open a can of worms for the city. It’s only going to lead to war.

 

* * *

 

After dinner, I decide to throw some knives in one of the training rooms before going back to the apartment for the night. When I enter, I see that Tobias is already in there, throwing knives.

I consider leaving the room to give him his space when he notices me. He turns his body to face me, his features quite stern. “Came to finally talk?”

Is he still irritated about me keeping secrets? It’s dangerous to tell him, especially since we’re in here; in a room that’s monitored by the control room.

“Shouldn’t you know better than to ask that information here of all places?” I demand. “There are cameras in this room. Someone could be watching the feed at any moment.”

“Whatever you are hiding, whatever the five of you are hiding, is serious,” says Tobias. “It seems selfish of you to hold that information.”

“Selfish?” I demand, feeling stung by that accusation and feeling offended that he is overstepping his boundaries. “Do you know that you are talking to one of the Dauntless leaders? Also, why are you accusing me of being selfish when you don’t know what’s crossing my mind?”

Tobias opens his mouth to argue but holds what’s in his mouth. His features soften and he takes a deep breath. “You’re right. It’s not my place. And I don’t know what you’re thinking.”

“No, you don’t,” I say, crossing my arms. I sigh. “Whatever information you’re seeking, I’m sorry, but it’s not in my place to tell you classified information. It will put us in danger if I do.”

Comprehension dawns on him. Did it have to take him twice to realize that it’s dangerous for me to reveal this sort of information?

Deciding that I should give him his space, I step back and say, “I’ll be leaving.”

I turn my heel and walk out of the training room.


	12. Chapter Twelve

Since initiation is due to begin in a month, Jeanine summoned Eric and I to Erudite headquarters. I know it has something to do with hunting down Divergents. But I guess that it also has something to do with what Jeanine has in mind for Abnegation.

            The Erudite sector is just as immaculate just like it was when I was here. Erudite members are walking down the street, though there are two groups that are huddled together; whispering to each other and glancing sideways to make sure that no one else is hearing what they are saying.

            When the first group sees us walk past, they immediately walk away from each other as if nothing happened.

            “You think they know?” I whisper to Eric.

            “They probably are asking each other for answers,” Eric says with a shrug. “Genocide is not something that you’d broadcast to an entire faction. It would lead to a coup and Jeanine can’t afford that.”

            It wouldn’t make sense for Jeanine to divulge her plans to everyone anyway. She most likely only informed her closest acquaintances and those who agreed with her anti-Abnegation agenda. As for those who could have originated from Abnegation, like my brother, she probably didn’t provide the reason why she would use such a serum in the first place.

            As usual, Erudite members were roaming around the lobby; either bending over books or sitting in front of the computer. I envy them. Most of them don’t know what’s going to happen.

            I ignore Jeanine’s portrait as the two of us walk down the corridor.There are only a few people that walk past us as we approach the elevator. Once we are inside the elevator, it’s like the level of my anxiety shot right up. Whatever this meeting is about, I don’t want any part of it.

            So the only thing I could do is bite my finger nails.

            The elevator door slides open and I stumble after Eric, making sure that I don’t trip over my own feet. In the corridor outside Jeanine’s office, Jeanine herself is standing out here; dressed immaculately in blue and with her trademark leather folder to her side.

            “Right on time,” she says. “We have important issues to discuss, so we must not dawdle.”

            We both follow her to her office, with Eric’s fingers gently touching my lower back. To soothe me no doubt. Knowing Jeanine Matthews, what she will be talking about will not bode well.

When inside her office, I slump into one of the white, leather chairs and run my fingers through my hair.

“Now,” Jeanine starts after she closes her office door, “I know that you two have to wrap up plans for initiation as well as other important matters. So, we will not linger long.”

At two in the afternoon, Eric and I will be in a meeting with Tobias and Christina regarding initiation, since it will begin in two weeks. It will discuss what’s been changed about initiation and the practices we’ll keep. Since we might get transfers from Abnegation and Amity, I want to talk to Eric and Tobias about the matter of addressing the initiates. Calling an initiate a ‘Stiff’ or a ‘Banjo Strumming Softy’ does not promote comradery; rather it teachers the other transfers that the initiate being called that derogatory term is lesser then them.

An instructor does more than teach the initiates about how to survive initiation. They set the example; how a Dauntless should behave.

“We’re not cutting things short,” says Eric. “Trust me.”

“First things first,” Jeanine starts. “Since initiation is in two weeks, we’ll be discussing the subject regarding looking for Divergent rebels.”

I knew it. I just knew it.

“Tris will be overseeing the transfers while I’ll be overseeing the Dauntless-born,” says Eric. “That way we could look for Divergent rebels in both groups.”

“Excellent,” says Jeanine with her trademark cool smile. “When it comes to behavioral analysis, what should you look for?”

“If anyone is showing behavioral traits for both factions,” I answer. “For example, a Dauntless born displaying the intelligence of a Erudite.”

“Exactly,” says Jeanine, like I’m a prized pupil in an Upper Levels classroom. “Though that’s not definite proof, it’s an indicator that the individual is a Divergent rebel. What would prove to us that the individual is a Divergent rebel is during stage two of Dauntless initiation. What does one do when you see an unrecorded test result?”

“Simple,” Eric answers, lacing his fingers. “We administrator the next simulation and if we see any suspicious going on with the simulation?”

“Yes,” says Jeanine. “If you do, forward the footage to me and we’ll take the appropriate course of action. If they hide their Divergence by pretending to be unaware, on the morning of the simulation attack, be on the lookout for any Divergent rebels.”

For Jeanine, this upcoming genocide has three purposes: the first to usurp the Abnegation from power; the second to get rid of Divergent rebels; and the third to retrieve that box. Considering the type of person Jeanine is, she’ll have multiple reasons to orchestrate atrocities.

“As for the simulation attack, the Abnegation have something that I want,” says Jeanine. “Could one of you guess what it is?”

“The Box,” I blurt out. “You sent us an attachment that contained a diagram of it.”

“Yes, Beatrice,” she replies. “That’s correct. Years ago, our founders created a message and put it in a box displaying the symbols of the five factions. Unfortunately, they trusted the Box to the Abnegation, and no one knows the message it contains. However, it seems that select members of Abnegation do.”

Yes, like people like my parents.

“The only way for the Box to be unlocked is if someone with strong neurodivergence opens it, via going through simulations relating to the factions,” she says. “An individual with strong neurodivergence will be able to survive the simulations.”

I have the feeling that people are going to die in the process of unlocking The Box, considering that someone with strong neurodivergences could survive.

“What are your criteria for strong neurodivergence?” Eric inquires.

“A individual who is eighty percent Divergent,” Jeanine answers promptly. “Preferably an individual who is Divergent by one hundred percent, though it will be illogical for someone to have aptitude for all five factions.”

“Percentage rate?” I ask.

Jeanine curls her lips in a cool smirk yet one has to squint to see the malice in it. “Let me demonstrate.”

She opens her drawer and takes out an object that resembles a wand.

“Dr. Gustavo was clever,” Jeanine says. “This device reads your mirror neurons and the results are forwarded to the transmitters on this device. It has yet to be mass produced, though I feel like I should test it out.”

I shudder. She’s going to use it on us to see out it works.

“Stand up, will you?” she prompts us.

I stand up and I could feel my heart pounding in my chest.

Jeanine goes over to me and puts the wand to my face. It lights up and spins for a few seconds before it stops. The symbols of Abnegation, Dauntless, and Erudite are illuminated.

Divergent: eighty percent,” says a robotic female voice.

I realize with a jolt that I fit Jeanine’s criteria when it comes to opening The Box.

“Be lucky that there is a reason why the two of you are alive,” says Jeanine before going over to Eric.

It’s like my insides freeze as puts the object to his face and it illuminates and spins before saying, “Divergent: eighty percent.”

The symbols of Erudite and Dauntless are lit up.

Jeanine lowers the object and says, “Be thankful that I picked you two out to look for Divergent rebels. I will distribute these before the attack on Abnegation. I will look for Divergents in all the five factions and if they all die in the process, you two will be next.” Her eyes find mine and say, “She’ll be first.”

I gulp. Since she threatened that she’ll hook us up to The Box if no one else opens it, that means that we’re just disposal pawns in her game. If something happens to us before she could fulfill her threat, Jeanine wouldn’t care.

 

* * *

 

When we get back to the compound, the first thing I do is go to the building bathroom to vomit from the nausea building up due to Jeanine’s threat to us.

I wouldn’t put it past her to threaten our lives; threatening that she would hook us to that box to open it if the others couldn’t open it. She said that she’ll start with me if she runs out of Divergents.

Once I’m done retching, I wipe my mouth and compose myself before going to that initiation prep meeting in fifteen minutes. Initiation is in two weeks, so there’s that that’s hanging over my head.

 

* * *

 

“As you know, initiation is going to start in two weeks, so I guessed that we would wrap up our plans today,” says Eric as the four of us sit in the conference room. “Anything that you want to discuss still?”

Tobias is the one that gets the ball rolling. “Since the two of you are involved in initiation, which one of you is going to oversee the transfers? Or will both of you be in the room?”

“I will oversee the Dauntless-born most of the time while Tris will oversee the transfers,” Eric answers. “Though the two of us might swap places sometimes.”

I could tell that Tobias was hiding his satisfaction though he’s most likely disappointed that he will be in the room with Eric sometimes.

“What about capture the flag? Who will be the team captains this year?” Christina asks.

“I think two captains a team could work,” Eric answers. “Tris and I will co-captain one team while you and Four will co-captain the other team.”

“Just don’t pick the brawny guys this time,” says Christina.

“Trust me,” Eric laughs. “I favor brains first.” He turns to me and asks, “Is there something that you would like to bring up, Tris?”

“There is,” I point out. “On etiquette on how we should treat transfers from Abnegation and Amity.”

“I treat them no different from the other transfers,” says Tobias looking incredulous. “What do you mean?”

I sigh heavily before saying, “When the transfers arrive to Dauntless, their first instinct is to learn to act Dauntless to fit in. Where and how do they want to learn it? From the three of the four people sitting in this room. Because we are authority figures, they look to us on how a Dauntless should behave. We set an example for them on how a Dauntless member treats to his or her peers.” I look at both Eric and Tobias. “It’s good that we want to promote comradery and loyalty towards peers, however, calling a Abnegation transfer a ‘Stiff’ or a Amity transfer a ‘Banjo Strumming Softy’ isn’t helping with the comradery that you want to build. It singles that initiate out and it sends a message to the other transfers that the transfer who you called a Stiff or Banjo Strumming Softy is weaker than they are. Like last year, there will be initiates who think that bravery equates with stepping on those who they perceive as weak. If they hear us those derogatory slang, those initiates will think: _Oh, Four, Eric, and Tris call so-and-so that, so it’s okay_.”

I pound my hand on the table. “It isn’t. What message does it send to that initiate? If they are not confident enough, they will feel like that they will never mentally leave the faction they have left. It’s harmful to that initiate and it enables bullies. It doesn’t encourage comradery. Considering the tension between Erudite and Abnegation at the moment, it’s not a good idea. Personally, I never had problems with the Erudite transfers last year; they were with three of the five Candor transfers. However, we could have Erudite versions of Peter, Drew, and Molly this year and that’s why I bought that matter up.”

I register the expressions of the other three. Eric is stroking his chin; Tobias is looking at his feet, looking as if he wishes he wasn’t in the room. Christina, on the other hand, appears rather impressed by my speech.

“Does anyone have any comment?” Eric says.

There is none, so he decides to move on with the subject.

 

* * *

 

When we leave the conference room, I hear Tobias say, “Tris.”

I turn to look at him. Tobias looks sheepish.

“When I first took the job of initiate instructor, I never went that deep when I thought about the example they set,” he says. “I didn’t think that calling you a Stiff would single you out and that it might have enabled Peter and his lackeys further.”

“You can intimidate the initiates and rough them up a little but just don’t call them those derogatory terms that they use for those two factions,” I say. “Just calling them by their name does not mean that you would show favoritism.”

“You are better at this then I am,” he says laughing and I can’t help but laugh along with him.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

            Last year from today, I was sitting on a stool as mother trimmed my hair back in Abnegation. This year, I’m doing it by myself as I stand in front of the mirror in the apartment I share with Eric. I put my hair on one shoulder as I trimmed it, watching the dark blonde and steel pink locks fall on the bathroom floor.

            When I was finished, I throw the hair into the trash and tie my hair into a tight ponytail. Looking at my reflection, I gaze at the individual who I am now. Last year, the girl staring back at me was wearing grey, her dark blonde hair wrapped in the simple twist, her face appearing uncertain about what lies ahead. Now, that girl is wearing black, her dark blonde hair is streaked with pink, she’s tattooed, and has a piercing on one of her eyebrows.

            I think back to the exchange I had with my mother on the morning of the aptitude test a year ago:

            _“Are you nervous?” she asks._

_“Were you? For your test?” I ask her in return._

_“No,” she answers. “I was terrified. But I didn’t need to be.”_

            I’m nervous like I was last year, but it’s not the nervousness regarding what the test will tell me. I’m nervous because I will be overseeing the transfer initiates just a year after my own.

            Looking at my reflection, I look Dauntless but my facial features are soft and sweet in appearance. I’m toned and fit after a year of being here, but my physique is distractingly feminine.

            Eric and Tobias have it easy. They both look like they might break someone in half and they have that intimidating presence like all the Dauntless are supposed to have. Even hearing Eric talk once would cause an initiate to wet their pants. He has more of a commanding presence then Tobias, considering that he is a Dauntless leader.

            Me, I’m a Dauntless leader as well; Jocelyn and Zeke joke about how intimidating I can be, but as Lynn said, the Dauntless men tend to underestimate the woman during initiation. I look textbook Dauntless with the black clothing, the streaked hair, and the tattoos but I still look feminine.

            The Erudite transfers might not be a problem. They have a woman in power and women in Erudite have the same professions as the men, but it’s too early to tell.

 

* * *

 

            Going into the cafeteria early in the morning, I see the giant white board that displayed the stage one rankings and cuts erected in the dining hall. Beneath it is a table with a bowl of blank paper slips and black markers.

            I sighed. Due to what has been going on, I forgot about the betting pool that Zeke mentioned. It is something that could only occur in Dauntless I heard. Erudite would find it highly illogical; both Abnegation and Amity would consider it barbaric. I consider it barbaric even.

            Why bet on the fate of the initiates? It’s not for our entertainment that they struggle to find a place within this faction. Considering what’s coming, it is pointless anyway.

            I go to the food line to get my breakfast and when I place eggs on my plate, Tobias comes up from behind me and gets his own tray.

            “Tomorrow is the Choosing Ceremony,” I tell him. “Are you and Eric preparing methods that would cause the potential initiates to wet themselves?”

            Tobias chuckles. “Not exactly. As for having the initiates wet themselves, only Eric is talented in that area.”

            “Peter looked like he was going to wet himself when you pointed the gun to his head in day one of training,” I say, laughing at the memory. “I thought you were pretty intimidating when I first arrived.”

            “That’s how the initiates usually perceive me when they step in here,” says Tobias. “They are supposed to, since I’m their instructor.”

            Of course they’ll find him intimidating. As for me, I don’t know if they will find me intimidating.

            When we get to the table, Zeke says, “Oh look! There is our fearsome Dauntless leader. How many initiates are you going to make wet their pants, Tris?”

            I snort as I sit down. “Probably one. It’s not like I’m Eric. You should have seen me when I first saw him.”

            “Did you wet your pants when you first saw him?” Zeke asks.

            “No but I tensed up and didn’t want him to look at me as I didn’t want to look at him,” I say truthfully.

            “That is how we know him best,” says Jocelyn as Eric sits down with us. She turns to speak to him and says, “It took you a few months before the initiation two years back to get that intimidating.”

            “Shut up,” he says, trying not to laugh. He sits down beside me and kisses me full on the lips, wrapping my arm around my waist to pull me closer towards him. When we pull apart, Lynn looks like she is going to vomit.

            “Can you two stop acting like you can’t keep your hands off each other in public?” Lynn asks. “Especially while we are eating.”

            Changing the subject, I say, “Today, the dependents take their aptitude tests. Do you remember how you were feeling before you took your aptitude tests?”

            “I was a little nervous,” says Christina, shrugging. “Then again, who isn’t on the morning of the aptitude test?”

            “I didn’t know whether I was going to get Erudite or Dauntless, to be honest,” says Will. “I figured Erudite since I passed most of my classmates but Edward and I would read up every book about self-defense.”

            Edward. All that reading on self-defense since he was ten and all that hard work amounted to nothing on the night the rankings were posted. All because Peter wanted to be ranked first.

            “How did you feel the day of the aptitude test, Tris?” Christina asks me.

            “I was nervous,” I answer. “I didn’t know whether the test will tell me to leave Abnegation or that I would stay. I feared both.”

            “And you passed Dauntless initiation despite an Abnegation result,” says Christina, smiling. “I knew it was for the food.”

            “Nonsense,” I say before I try to tuck into my breakfast.

 

* * *

 

            Rain started pouring down after the dependents went to school, though I still had to do my overview patrol of the fence. I held my umbrella over my head to protect myself from the rain, though I’m wearing my black rain coat, as I walked down the balcony of the fence.

            To my left, the Amity compound is virtually silent. No one is out to gather their crops. Of course they wouldn’t in this weather. It would be pointless.

            In a few days, the transfer initiates will be out here learning about job opportunities. Jobs that they might never apply for thanks to Jeanine Matthews. Considering that it will most likely happen after initiation, it’s pointless. Why are we having initiation anyway? Because it would attract suspicion if we do. We have to appear like nothing is going to happen.

            I hear a clap of thunder and see a flash of lighting to the north of me. At this point, I hear a cracking in my headset.

            “Yeah?” I ask after putting the headset to my face.

            “Lightning struck to the north of you,” says Eric from the headset. “Best to retreat back into the compound. Lightning can strike any tall target.”

            “Right,” I say. I do as instructed and leave the fence.

 

* * *

 

            The day seemed to have dragged on. Nothing eventful happened aside from that usual mound of paperwork. I filled in the correct areas as I heard the rain batter against the windows. I turn to look at the clock.

            Its thirty minutes after five in the evening. What was I doing at this time last year? Last year Caleb and I prepared dinner back in Abnegation before our parents arrived back home. I was mentally numb at this point. I had just been told that I had aptitude for three factions and was warned by Tori not to disclose the information.

            Did Tori warn someone else today? I couldn’t have been the only Divergent she administered the aptitude test on. I couldn’t be the first or the last either.

            I have just started the second to last sheet of paperwork when I hear the door knock.

            “Come in,” I prompt.

            The door opens and in comes Eric, carrying a steaming mug of tea and a cookie. “Here, I think you could use this to unwind.”

            “Thanks.” I take the mug and cookie from him. “Today dragged for me. It was like the hours never changed.”

            “That’s what happens with paperwork,” he points out.

            “I figure that it goes the same for initiation,” I tell him before sipping my tea.

            “Four says he tweaks stage one slightly from time to time since two years ago,” Eric answers. “That way it won’t become so monotonous every year.”

            “That’s good,” I say. I lapse into silence and say, “Do you think the transfers will take me seriously?”

            “I don’t see why they wouldn’t,” Eric replies with a shrug. “You’re a Dauntless leader. Besides, you’ve learned the art of intimidation from me.”

            I smile and chuckle slightly. “Yeah, I did. But they’ll be some that will think that I just act Dauntless. Not that I’m actually Dauntless.”

            “Then put those initiates in their place,” Eric says. “Show them that you are not someone to be messed with. That you’re dangerous when someone crosses you the wrong way.”

            “Like you?” I ask with a smile.

            “Something like that,” he says. “After all, you did learn from the best.”

            I did and as Eric put it, the only way I’ll prove myself to the initiates is if showed them that I’m not someone to be messed with. In retrospect, I’m as volatile as Eric.

 

* * *

 

            On the morning of the Choosing Ceremony, I wake up early to see what I would want to wear today. That way the new brand of initiates coming in won’t think I’m something that should be underestimated.

            Looking at my tops, I immediately decide not to wear anything that’s sleeveless or that’s sheer. They would see my Abnegation tattoo and immediately think that I didn’t make it on my own. Anything long sleeve would do. I settle on a black sweater with purple accents and black pants with side panels.

            I make the morning coffee and what makes me aware of Eric’s presence is him wrapping his arms around my shoulders and burying his nose into my shoulder.

            “Morning, Stiff,” he greets.

            I turn to kiss him on the lips and say, “Morning to you.”

            He detaches himself from me but not before softly patting my behind before getting food around to make breakfast.

            “Are you going to see who the first jumper at the net is today?” he asks.

            “No, I’ll enter the initiates in the system before dinner,” I say. “Will you?”

            “I’ll be greeting the initiates at the roof of the building,” he says with a smirk. “Thought I’ll intimidate them early.”

            “Some might wet their pants just by hearing you talk,” I tell him.

            Hearing that, Eric cracks up laughing. “You should have seen this Candor transfer two years ago. He took one look at me and people recoiled from him because they said he wet himself.”

 

* * *

 

            As what was written on my agenda, Veronica and I retrieve bags of black plain clothes from the clothing place and we dump the clothes into the trunks by the beds at the transfer dormitory.

            “Are you going to the Choosing Ceremony tonight?” she asks.

            “No,” I say as I dump the last set of black clothes into the last trunk on my end. “I’m staying here to see what the roster of transfers are.”

            “You don’t have to,” says Veronica. “Personally, I attend to help welcome the initiates. I want to see the new faces before they jump the net.”

            “The ones who don’t pass are lucky,” I say grimly as I place the underwear in the basin for the initiates to retrieve. “They won’t know what lies ahead.”

            Veronica looks grim though she nods in agreement. She too has been disturbed by Jeanine’s plan.

            Before dinner, half of Dauntless has departed to the Choosing Ceremony while I remain in my office typing up a memo regarding the update in policy regarding the fence patrols.

            Around six PM, I hear the noise of the fax machine and leave my chair, snatching the list up.

            There are eleven transfers this year. Four of each from Erudite and Candor; one from Amity and two from Abnegation. I bite my lip when I recognize the names of the Abnegation transfers. Irene Lancaster lived across from us with her parents and brother. Her father, Simon, is another close colleague of father’s. Irene and I would sometimes shovel sidewalks together. Matthew Cullen was a quiet boy who I spoke to once or twice. His father is also a councilmember.

            There is a chance that they still might recognize me despite the colored hair and tattoos. If one of them points it out, I’ll just mimic Tobias’s passive aggressiveness and move the subject forward.

            It doesn’t take me long to enter them into the system. I put their ranks as pending and from there, I retrieve their records.

 

* * *

 

            Knowing that the initiates are there by now, I go to the dining hall. As soon as I push the doors open and step inside, the dining hall goes quiet; like it does most of the time when I step into the dining hall.

            My eyes search for the table where the transfers might be sitting and when I see Tobias sitting with teenagers wearing clothes of the other factions, I walk towards that table. By then conversation resumes at its usual volume.

            I see a Erudite girl touch Tobias on the arm and she points at me while asking him something. Is she asking the same thing that Christina asked when Eric made a similar entrance?

            I sit across from Tobias and next to Serenity Williams, the only Amity transfer. She looks up at me and immediately scoots away with her tray. It wouldn’t surprise me that I appear intimidating to a transfer from Amity.

            I look around the table at the transfers. Matthew whispers to Irene and they both look like they are in the final process of placing me. They still recognize me most likely.

            “Well, which one of you jumped first?” I ask them, trying to sound casual.

            “Me,” says a black-haired freckled, Candor girl boastfully. She looks a year younger then sixteen, but people don’t look their age all the time.

            “Yeah, but you were screaming on the way down,” says a dark haired Candor boy. “You know, screaming like a girl.”

            “Shut up, Daniel,” she spits out. “Everyone in Candor knew that you were a sexist twerp.”

            Daniel doesn’t say anything but I thought I hear him mutter, “Girls and their PMS.”

            I scowl at him and he scowls back at me as he whispers to a Erudite boy next to him. I am about to leave to find Eric –

            “Hey, I know you!” Irene exclaims, her face full of recognition. “You’re Beatrice Prior, are you?”

            I chuckle, trying to sound cynical as possible, before saying passive aggressively, “You must be mistaken.”

            Like he didn’t hear me, Daniel says, “Ooh, we got a former Stiff.” He turns to his Erudite companion and says, “Freddy, did you hear that? One of the Stiffs knows someone.”

            They and another Candor boy laugh, looking at me. Feeling the blood reach my face, I slowly stand up. I must put them in their place.

            “How did you become a Dauntless leader, Stiff?” Daniel asks me snidely. “By sleeping your way up?”

            White hot rage fills me as I grab the end of the table and flip it over, the food falling on the floor. The dining hall falls silent as I march over to Daniel and grab him by the collar.

            “Now, you listen to me,” I hiss in a low voice. “You don’t want to mess with me. You don’t know what I have been through and what I have been taught. Make another snide remark or do anything else, you’ll regret the day you were born. Get it?”

            He looks defiantly at me, though I let go of him and walk away to find Eric. He’s sitting with Jocelyn and Sean, laughing most likely about what they saw.

            “What did that Candor boy do?” Jocelyn asks.

            “One of the Abnegation transfers said she recognized me and this Candor transfer named Daniel took it upon himself to say that I slept my way the ranks,” I say.

            “Did he learn anything when you flipped the table over?” Eric asks, full of anticipation.

            “He looked defiant even after I threatened him,” I say before taking a uneaten hamburger that Eric offers me. “The boy has a death wish.”

            “It’s going to be that way, since he’ll also have me to deal with,” he says.

            Eric is right about that. The boy has no brains either.

            Towards the end of dinnertime, the clanging of metal cups on tables began and we all look up to see Max looking over at the initiates from the balcony. He gave a speech on the night of my Choosing Ceremony as well, so this is nothing new.

            “Initiates, stand,” he announces.

            In response, the initiates stand up and look at him.

            “You have chosen the warrior faction,” he begins, “tasked with the defense of this city and all its inhabitants.”

            Soon, the faction members will be wound up like tin soldiers to commit genocide rather than defense.

           “We believe in ordinary acts of bravery,” Max continues, “and the courage that drives one person to stand up for another. Respect that. Do us proud.”

           

 

* * *

 

            At the end of dinner, I lead the initiates to the door of the transfer dormitory. Fortunately, the murmurs of anticipation cloud out the malice that Daniel and his lackeys might be saying.

            When I get to the door of the transfer dormitory, I turn away and draw myself up, trying to appear taller than them.

            “As you know, my name is Tris,” I introduce. “I am one of five leaders of Dauntless and as a result. I will oversee your stage one training.”

            Most of the transfers look ashen after I have said that. Probably because of that scene I made in the cafeteria thanks to the stupidity of one of the transfers. Daniel and his Candor lackey chuckle as if me overseeing initiation is some joke. Freddy – Daniel’s other lackey – appears as if he doesn’t want me to know that he exists. Matthew and Irene appear placid.

            I push open the door and say, “Follow me.”

            I lead them into the transfer dormitory and say, “This will be your dormitory.”

            “Boys or girls?” Matthew asks shyly. That question shouldn’t surprise me, as Abnegation children are usually sheltered.

            “It’s for both, initiate,” I say. “You’re not in Abnegation anymore, so you’ll have to get used to it.”

            Daniel and both of his lackeys chuckle. I immediately scowl at them.

            “We don’t have to share a bathroom though, do we?” asks a red haired freckled Erudite girl, like the idea was illogical and ludicrous.

            “See for yourself.” I gesture to the bathroom door. “Remember, curfew for initiates is at nine thirty at night. Also, make sure you get a good night sleep. Tomorrow, you’ll have to meet with Four in the Pit.”

            As I walk my way out of the transfer dormitory, I don’t hesitate to bump into Daniel’s shoulder on the way out.     


	14. Chapter Fourteen

            The next morning, Eric, Tobias, and I are standing near the stairwell to the Pire, waiting for the transfers. When my wristwatch reads seven thirty in the morning, they arrive. They are wearing black and some of them – like Serenity – have blotchy faces and bloodshot eyes. I guess some of the transfer initiates spent last night crying out of homesickness.

            Tobias approaches them and begins to speak to them. “There are three stages of training. The first is physical. Push your bodies to the breaking point and you’ll master the methods of combat. The second is emotional. Again, breaking point. You’ll face your worst fears. The third is mental, where you’ll conquer them, unless they get you first.”

            Tobias steps back. I come forward and say, “You will be trained separately from the Dauntless-born, but you’ll be ranked together in the final rankings. When your initiation is over, you’ll pick your jobs according to the order you were ranked. Helping the leaders, guarding the fence, or making sure that the factionless don’t kill each other.”

            “The rankings will also determine who gets cut,” Eric announces.

            Whispers ripple through the group of transfers and most of them glance at each other and look at us with wide eyes.

            “ _Cut_?” asks Irene, like she’s mortified.

            Eric straightens himself, approaches them and says, “At the end of the first and third stages of training, the lowest-ranking initiates will be leaving us.”

            “To do what?” Daniel asks.

            I scoff. Could he not get any stupider?

            “There’s no going home to your families, so you’d live factionless,” Eric says indifferently.

            Half of them appear crestfallen after Eric said those words. Little do they know, if they get cut, they’ll be the lucky ones, since they would not be mind controlled by Erudite.

            “Why didn’t we know that?” Daniel’s other lackey – who is identified as Jason – asks.

            “Your head must be thick as steel for you to say that,” Eric retorts.

            “But, somebody should have told us that,” Irene argues.

            “Why?” Eric demands. “Would you have chosen differently? Out of fear? I mean, if that’s the case, you might as well get out now.” He steps back two steps and continues, “If you’re really one of us, it won’t matter to you that you might fail. Now you chose us. Now we get to choose you.”

 

* * *

 

            “So, she wants to be called Serena,” I ask Tobias when talking to him about what the initiates want to be referred to as over breakfast.

            “Yeah,” he answers.

            I nod as I write it down. “I’ll enter those names into the system. We’ll have the rankings for the day at six this evening. I’ll show the ranking scoreboard to the initiates after you have whatever you had planned for them.”

            I’m about to walk away when Tobias grabs me by the wrist. “Are you sure you can show them alone? That Candor Smart-Mouth might have it in for you.”

            I rip my arm away from his grip and I stand up straight. “I wasn’t joking when I told him that he’ll regret it if he messes with me again. Trust me, he messes with me again and I’ll knock him out until next week. Not to mention he’ll have Eric to deal with as well.”

            “If that’s true, then he’s got a death wish,” says Tobias. “Eric put Peter in the infirmary overnight and he was still in bad shape the next morning.”

 

* * *

 

            It didn’t take long to modify the name of the transfers into the system. Just as I was getting started with the paperwork, someone knocks on the door.

            “Come in,” I say grumpily.

            The door opens and I see that it’s the mail carrier. “Package from Erudite,” he says.

            “Okay,” I say with indifference as I begin writing. “Just put it on my desk.”

            He puts it on my desk and it’s not long before I hear the door open and shut. I look away from my paperwork to see a blue parcel; complete with the Erudite symbol and on the white piece of paper, it reads:

**_Government delivery. Anyone who tampers with this package will be subjected to losing their faction credentials._ **

            I wonder what Erudite had sent us. If it’s a government delivery, it might have something to do with what the Erudite have in mind. I drop my pen and open the parcel with the box cutting knife that’s part of my knife set that Eric gave me for Christmas.

            I notice that there are three things; all bound by plastic. The first is a five hundred page booklet that’s titled _The Divergent Problem_ , the metallic wand that Jeanine demonstrated to Eric and I last month or Genetic Sensor as it’s labeled, and there is a blue strip of fabric with the Erudite symbol stamped on it. The plastic case on that reads: **SEW ON THE SLEEVE. ON THE AREA JUST BELOW THE SHOULDER.**

            Judging by the book, it’s like Jeanine wants to feed the Dauntless leaders anti-Divergent propaganda. As for the Genetic Sensor, it’s like she’s beginning to mass produce it. As for the armbands, it’s like Jeanine wants to categorize her pawns.

            That’s what we are to her. Just pawns who she wants to perform the dirty work for her.

 

* * *

 

            “We’re going to be packed at the tattoo parlor tonight,” Jocelyn says as we move through the food line to get our lunch. “It was last year.”

            “Initiates getting tattoos?” I ask.

            Jocelyn nods. “You know these kids. They are excited to be Dauntless.”

            “I see,” I say. “However, some initiates have the wrong idea what being Dauntless is.”

            “Ugh,” Jocelyn groans before rolling her eyes. “I sometimes get nervous when those characters come in. I always hope that they don’t appoint them later on in the future.”

            “Yeah, I could understand that,” I acknowledge. Jocelyn and I carry our trays and go where our boyfriends are sitting.

            “Anything new?” Jocelyn asks Sean.

            “Nothing much,” Sean answers with a shrug.

            I turn to Eric. “Any report of what the initiates have done so far?”

            “Four told me that he taught them how to use assault rifles this morning,” Eric answers. “He’s going to teach them hand to hand combat after lunch. Care to oversee that?”

            “Yes, if we want to get an idea about their fighting skills before tomorrow,” I say. I look back at one of the tables where the initiates are sitting. Matthew, Irene, Serena from Amity, and Monica – who was the first jumper – and Neville, one of the boys from Erudite are sitting together.

            I turn back and continue to say, “As for the matches, we shouldn’t give them easy but we shouldn’t give them something that’s exceedingly difficult. In other words pair them with people who are not going to keep beating them after they are unconscious.”

            “Well, looks like we’ll both do the list of the matches,” Eric says.

            “Just make sure that all of them don’t wind up in the infirmary,” Jocelyn says.

            “The only way for that to happen is if all of them try too hard,” Eric says. “Which is less likely to happen.”

 

* * *

 

            Tobias is already writing the names of the transfers in alphabetical order when Eric and I enter the first training room. He turns to look at us though turns back to what he was doing.

            “Plan on intimidating them with your presence?” Tobias asks, not looking at us. “I thought one of you is overseeing the Dauntless-born.”

            “I did this morning,” says Eric. “The two of wanted to oversee the transfers just to get an idea of what the matches should be.”

            “After two years, I’m not surprised by how you match up the initiates, Eric,” Tobias argues.

            “It might be slightly different with Tris involved this year,” Eric points out.

            When Tobias was finished writing all eleven names down, he leaves the training room and five minutes later, he arrives back with the transfer initiates. They all look around at their new surroundings. First to the chalkboard then to the orange punching bags.

            “As I said, today you will learn how to practice defense,” Tobias announces to the initiates. “First you will practice on a punching bag and then you’ll practice with a partner of your choice. Tomorrow, you’ll be matched with a fellow initiate based on the choosing of the Dauntless leadership involved in initiation.”

            Tobias demonstrates examples of punches first against the air and then against the punching bag nearest to him. The transfers all line up next to punching bags and the three of us pace as we watch them practice their punches on the bags.

            Though Monica is petite in stature, she has no problem battering the punching bag that it sways almost violently. Just because one is short in stature that does not mean that they can’t be volatile. Looks could be deceiving.

            Serena appears to have no luck on getting the punching bag to budge. Though she appears determined, she was getting less satisfactory results with the punches.

            “Try to think of something that makes you angry,” I inform her, thinking of the advice Eric gave me when I was just an initiate.

            Serena abruptly turns to me; her eyes wide with shock. Either because I’m intimidating to her and she didn’t expect me to give her advice or the peace and love mantra of the Amity is still engrained in her head. She’s just a transfer after all.

            “You’re not in Amity anymore,” I remind. “You don’t have to hold the tension in. It’s not healthy anyway.”

            I walk away from Serena and pass Tobias when I decide to analyze how Daniel is throwing his punches. The bag is swaying violently as a result of his punches. He looks much focused as well.

            I fear that he’s Peter Hayes reincarnate.

            When I pass by him, I thought I hear him mutter, “Be glad that it’s not you.”

            That causes me to abruptly turn to his direction. So, he thinks that he, just an initiate, could take down me, a Dauntless leader who has been here for a year, that easy? I remember the saying _be careful what you wish for_ and he will get it, only to be put in his place.

            “Oh, so you want a match?” I demand snidely. I raise my voice and shout, “Everybody stop!”

            The transfers stop what they are doing and look at me with confusion as I lead them to the platform. Tobias appears unsure what do make of this while Eric is beaming with anticipation and excitement. He knows what’s going to happen.

            I stand on the platform and say, “Come to the platform, initiate.”

            Daniel joins me, looking too confident for my tastes. He’s only an inch taller than me, but I took down Peter during my initiation. Yeah Daniel will be no problem.

            We both get into position. The first weakness I spot is that he doesn’t guard his abdomen. His fist shoots out and I block my jaw with my elbow and before he could react, I sink my fist into his fist below his bellybutton.

            He doubles over in pain and I sweep kick him to the floor. I hear laughter rumble through the captive audience as he slowly gets up, holding his abdomen. He lifts his foot to kick me at the stomach, only for me to grab his foot and pull him forward. To make a point, I slightly twist his ankle, causing him to yelp in pain.

            “Tris, stop,” Tobias says. “We’re not supposed to injure the initiates before the first day of fighting.”

            “Let her show him who’s boss,” Eric says. “Just be lucky that she’s not doing any serious damage.”

            I was finished anyway. I throw down the boy’s foot and look down, seeing that he’s panting and fear stricken.

            “Let me make this clear,” I tell him. “You wanted this.”

            I turn to the other transfers and announce, “If anyone of you undermine our authority or try to take us on, this is what you get. I ranked first last year in the final rankings, ranking third in the combat stage and ranking first in stage two. Try to take on Dauntless members who have been here for a year or more, and you’ll get very painful results. Get it?”

            The transfers didn’t hesitate to nod, though most of them were pallid. Daniel got up and tried getting away from me, though he was limping.

 

* * *

 

            After they finished learning a thing or two about hand to hand combat, Eric and I led the transfers back to the transfer dormitory.

            “Gather around,” I say, as Eric and I stand by the ranking scoreboard. “We want to show you something and tell you a little more about the cutting system.”

            The initiates crowd around us, though Daniel and his friends are in the back. It’s like they are afraid to come near me. I inwardly smirk in satisfaction.

            Eric presses a button at the side of the scoreboard and I see the names slowly fill the screen. Of the eleven transfers, seven are above the red line while four are below the red line. Irene is just below the red line, with Serena currently ranking eleventh.

            “Know what this board is?” Eric asks the initiates, who are currently looking at it with surprise. “It’s your life. We grade you every day. If you’re still in red by the end of the first stage, you’re out.”

            “And if you attack your fellow initiate outside of training hours for whatever reason, you’re out.” I continue, walking towards them and some of them back away from me. “No questions. You’re out of Dauntless. Just because we train you in physical combat, that does give the right to attack and bully your peers and fellow faction members. We’re a faction of soldiers that protect that the city and its inhabits. We don’t train brutes and tyrants.”

            “What makes you think that we might attack each other?” asks the red haired Erudite transfer; Addy, which she is called by the initiate roster.

            “Last year, I witnessed an attack in my own initiation at the end of stage one,” I tell them. “And I myself got attacked later by the same person at the end of stage two. Why? Because he was upset that he wasn’t ranked first and he is still here.”

            I don’t say that Peter had accomplices when he attacked me. I don’t want to give Daniel any ideas.

            “If you attack a fellow initiate because they outranked you, you’re a coward,” I tell them. “Only a coward would feel threatened to the point of attacking someone who outranked them.”

 

           

 


	15. Chapter Fifteen

            The alarm doesn’t wake me up the next morning. Rather I’m roused by the feeling of his lips touching my eyelids.

            “Rise and shine, Stiff,” he says as I open my eyes and look up at his face. “Ready to intimidate the initiates some more? To put them in their place?”

            “You could say that,” I say. “It’s an understatement.”

            “I knew you would want to,” he says as I sit up on the bed and stretch my muscles.

            “So, the initiates are fighting today?” I ask him as I stand up.

            “Yes, this afternoon after lunch,” Eric answers as he too stands up. “Four wants them to learn about how to handle assault rifles this morning.”

            “Should we work on the matches over breakfast?” I ask. “Both the transfers and Dauntless-born are still in bed at the moment.”

            “Sure,” he says with a smirk. “That way Four doesn’t have a initial say in the matter. Then again, he never has much of a say when it comes to the matches.”

            After a quick shower, we prepare a simple breakfast of oatmeal, bacon, and scrambled eggs. Though my oatmeal is plain as I have always preferred it.

            “Alright,” says Eric after we both get our mugs of coffee. He puts a short piece of paper on the table and takes out his pen. “Who do you think, should be left out today? There is a odd number of them just like last year.”

            I think about that one. According to the ranking scoreboard yesterday, Irene is just below the red line while Matthew is right above it. Serena is ranked at the bottom as of now. Eric had me fight on the first day of fighting as to prepare me and give me some footing. Coming to think of it, someone from Amity is less likely to pass initiation then someone from Abnegation.

            “Serena,” I say.

            “Okay,” he says. “Pair Matthew with Neville?”

            “Yeah,” I say. “Pair Monica with Addy. They are not to each other’s speed but one of them won’t keep beating the other even when they are unconscious.”

            Eric writes it down. “Any ideas who you might pair Irene with?”

            “Leslie,” I answer.

            “As for Daniel, he needs to be brought down yet another peg after yesterday,” Eric says, writing on the piece of paper. “Might as well pair him with Freddy. He’s ranked two spaces above him.”

            Which left Jason and Nita, which we paired to fight. Whoever loses in that match will not fight tomorrow.

           

* * *

 

            Since there was no paperwork and nothing that required my attention, I decided to go and see how the Dauntless-born were doing. When I entered the training room, two initiates were already in the middle of their fight. Looking over to the board, I see that this is the first match.

            “How long have they been going at it?” I ask Christina as Angela, the Dauntless-born girl with green streaks in her brown hair flipped her opponent, a boy named Nigel, to the ground.

            “Five minutes,” says Christina. “Apparently Angela is stronger than she looks.”

            “Has she been handing it to him?” I ask.

            “Oh, yeah,” she says with a grin.

            Unsurprisingly, Angela wins that match and I decide to hang around to watch the rest of the matches. Unlike the transfers, these kids have practically grown up together. They developed their comradery at a early age, so it’s not a surprise to see them help up their opponents after a fight or two Dauntless-born initiates work together to help up the defeated opponent.

            For the Dauntless-born, they most likely see it as a friendly competition, where they put their comradery to work. For the transfers, it’s a contest to see who fails initiation first.

 

* * *

 

            After lunch, I meet with Tobias at the other training room before the transfer initiates arrive to begin their first round of fighting. He’s writing the matches on the blackboard.

            “Ready?” I ask him.

            He turns to see me and turns back to his task. “Ready to witness the transfers beat each other up until one of them can’t stand? I have always found it barbaric.”

            “We’ll call the fights off when the initiate continues beating his or her unconscious opponent,” I say, raising an eyebrow.

            “At least you’re not Eric,” says Tobias. “I’m surprised that I haven’t punched him last year.”

            At this time, the transfers slowly file into the room. Tobias straightens his posture, looking stern as I lean against a stone pillar, stuffing my hands in my pockets.

            “There are an odd number of you and due to that, one of you will not be fighting today,” Tobias announces as he moves away from the blackboard. I glance at the initiates to see their reactions regarding the matches.

            Serena looks relieved that she doesn’t get to fight today; Irene tries to read the board a second time, like she’s hoping that there was a misprint; Monica looks rather smug; Daniel’s face drains of color. Probably because he doesn’t want to lose a fight with his Erudite lackey.

            Neville and Matthew appear rather hesitant at first, circling and throwing punches that are soft. Neville looks like he’s restraining himself.

            In order to avoid any problems between Tobias and Eric later on, I shout, “Stop playing like Lower Levels children! Start to actually fight!”

            “You want us to hit each other?” Matthew asks, like doing so was unthinkable.

            I roll my eyes and say, “How else are you going to survive a fight in real life, initiate?”

            “When does the fight end?” Neville asks with uncertainty.

            Does every transfer ask that since two years ago? “It ends when one of you is halfway-conscious or unconscious. When one is evidently down, don’t keep beating them. We are not brutes. So, quit wasting time and fight each other!”

            They put more effort into it, though it appears as though Neville has read up on hand to hand combat and practiced with it. Whereas Matthew most likely doesn’t have any experience. They say that the Dauntless-born have an unfair advantage in initiation because they grew up knowing the initiation process. Among the transfers, the Erudite transfers have an unfair advantage as they are in reach of books regarding self-defense.

            Neville wins the fight but both of them go to the infirmary because Matthew managed to give Neville a bloody nose. Then it’s Monica and Addy. Observing the two, Monica appears confident in her abilities though Addy appears slightly nervous. Addy is a good five inches taller than Monica, though I heard that height doesn’t guarantee the outcome of the fight.

            Looking over at the initiates who haven’t fought yet, I see that Irene and Serena are talking. Probably paying attention to the fight.

            Monica’s small structure does not prevent her from landing a good punch here and seems to use pressure points to take her down opponents. After Monica wins her fight, it’s Irene and Leslie’s turn. Leslie from Candor has a similar structure like Molly, though she is as tall as Irene.

            Irene looks unsure and Leslie looks scared for some reason that she looks at me for reassurance. Probably afraid of her own strength. I say, “Just don’t give out mortal injuries.”

            Irene probably paid attention to the fights before her, as I recognized some moves from the previous two fights. But Leslie is stronger than she is and Irene comes out worse than Leslie at the end.

            The fight between Daniel and Freddy only lasted for five minutes and at the end, Daniel was more black and blue then flesh colored. Hopefully that would siphon some of his confidence for the next day.

 

* * *

 

            I decide to get some odds and ends at the necessity shop when I see Christina, Zeke, and Will stocking up on bottles of fizzy drinks and bagged sandwiches.

            “What are you guys doing?” I ask, raising my eyebrow.

            “Trying to cheer up the transfers after a day of fighting,” says Christina. “You know…hang out with them to help them get integrated to the faction.”

            Where do you intend on taking them?” I ask.

            “The roof of the Pire,” says Zeke. “Good place to hang out and eat food and sip on fizzy drinks.”

            “Are you game?” Christina asks.

            “Are you kidding?” Will asks jokingly. “She probably caused the transfers to wet their pants.”

            “Maybe, but Eric is already an expert of intimidation,” I say with a shrug. “Has been for three years now.”

            “Well, are you game?” Christina asks again.

 

* * *

 

            “Um, is it against the rules to be up here?” Matthew asks nervously after we reach the roof of the Pire. “If we get caught…”

            “Relax, Matthew,” Monica says in irritation. She rolls her eyes. “You are as _stiff_ as a board. Lighten up.”

            “Anyway, I’m here so you won’t get into so much trouble,” I remind them. “You’ll be Dauntless before you know it.”

            “Yeah, if we pass,” Irene grumbles, like she is uncertain of it.

            “You will, if you have the determination,” says Christina. She puts her elbow on my shoulder and says, “We had a few idiots who thought that she wouldn’t pass.”

            “Shut up, Christina,” I say, rolling my eyes. Though I stifle a chuckle.

            Zeke distributes the sandwiches and fizzy drinks and we all sit on the roof, watching the nighttime sky as the sandwiches sit on our laps.

            “Why do you have the same forearm tattoos as the other Dauntless leader?” Monica asks before taking a bite from her ham sandwich.

            I look down at the block tattoos on both my forearms. “So?” I ask with a shrug. “Just a fashion statement.”

            “Wouldn’t he be upset about you imitating him?” Serena asks. “The guy is intimidating and looks as if he might break you in half if you cross him the wrong way.”

            “Well, he won’t care the slightest,” I tell them with a smile. “Only if you get on his bad side, he will threaten to break you in half.”

            I expect one of the initiates to inquire about my relationship with Eric, but fortunately, they don’t.

            “What do you guys do for a living?” Matthew asks. “You know, when you’re not intimidating initiates?”

            The four of us glance at each other, though Zeke is the first to answer. “I work in the control room with one of your initiate instructors. Four, as he calls himself.”

            “Why does he call himself a number?” Irene asks, raising her eyebrow. “Do any of you know what his real name is?”

            “We are not allowed to disclose it,” I answer. “It’s a private matter.”

            After five seconds of silence, Monica asks me, “How long have you been a Dauntless leader if your initiation was last year?”

            “Why does it matter?” I ask.

            “Well, you’re rather young, are you?” Irene asks. “Shouldn’t seniority matter more?”

            “Age doesn’t matter here,” I say, repeating what Tobias said regarding Eric’s age on my first night at Dauntless and saying it in a tone that indicated that there was to be no discussion on the matter.

            “Stop scaring the initiates when you talk like that,” says Will, elbowing me in the ribs.

            “I’m a Dauntless leader,” I say with a smirk. “It’s my job to intimidate.”

            The hatch door opens to the roof of the Pire and Eric almost comes out of the building. “Initiate curfew is in twenty five minutes,” Eric says. “Clean up.”

            “Do you have to ruin everything?” Christina, not hesitating on giving Eric the stink eye.

            “You know that you shouldn’t keep the initiates up past curfew,” Eric reminds her. He looks at the initiates and says, “Linger any longer and it will be a docking of points.”

            The transfers hurry away and go back into the building. Christina and Zeke look disgruntled though I don’t know about Will.

            A few minutes later when Eric and I are walking towards the apartment, Eric says to me, “So, trying to spend time with the transfers.”

            “It was Zeke’s idea”, I say with a shrug. “Trying to get them integrated into the faction.”

            “I thought you wanted them to see you as equally intimidating as Four and I,” he says with a smirk as he unlocks the apartment door.

            “I’m sure they are still intimidated,” I say as we enter the apartment for the night. Treating myself to tea, saltines crackers, and reading a books seems like a comforting option. As we lay in bed, I read a book about ancient civilizations while he massages my back.

 

* * *

 

            Eric faxed the day’s matches to Tobias the next morning before breakfast. As we enter the dining hall, Tobias confronts us, frowning and his fists are clenched.

            “You’re pairing one of the Stiffs with Daniel?” Tobias demands through gritted teeth.

            “Which one?” Eric asks, raising his eyebrow. “A former Stiff is standing next to me and another is facing me at the moment.”

            “You know who I’m talking about, Eric,” Tobias seethes.

            “For all I know, Tris put Daniel in his place the first day and he lost the fight on the second day,” Eric says. “Irene may have lost yesterday but at least she has some footing. An Abnegation transfer is more likely to pass initiation then an Amity transfer anyway.

            “Yes but he’d beat her to a bloody pulp,” Tobias argues. “I don’t understand why you pit the Abnegation against the Candor since last year and –”

            “So are you going to fall in love with every female Stiff that comes here?” Eric asks rather snidely. “I didn’t know that you get over Tris that quickly. Then again, Irene isn’t too bad for the eyes either for someone who’s single.”

            “I’m not in love with her, you pompous –” Tobias begins.

            “Guys, stop,” I say, tugging on Eric’s arms. “Not in full view of the initiates.”

            I steer Eric away from Tobias and when we get to the food line, I hit Eric in the arm. “What is it with you pushing his buttons, Eric?” I demand. “One of these days, you two might wound up strangling each other.”

            “Good thing I know a few hand tricks to prevent that from happening,” he says with his signature smirk. “That way he’ll end up with two broken wrists.”

            I roll my eyes and mutter, “Men.”

 

* * *

 

            After breakfast, the initiates file into the training room. As I lean against a pillar, I observe their reactions of some of the initiates. Serena and Addy both glance at each other, like the fighting match is unsettling. Irene looks like she swallowed a sour lemon before sending daggers to Daniel’s direction, who’s already with his lackeys, laughing about something. I never paid too much attention to the relations between the initiates but it’s like Irene and Daniel might have a rivalry similar to the one I had with Peter last year.

            Addy’s and Serena’s fight doesn’t last long. It lasts over three minutes before Addy takes down Serena with a few well-placed punches. Then it’s Irene’s and Daniel’s turn. Looking over at Irene, I see that determination on her face. Like she’s determined to win this time.

            “Don’t look so confident, Stiff,” Daniel jeers as he gets into position. “It’s going to be no problem kicking your ass.”

            “This is not a school yard!” I shout, straightening myself. “Shut up or I’ll do it for you!”

            Daniel puts all his weight into a punch or he would have punched her if she didn’t block it, grab his wrist and threw him onto the ground. That move she might have learned from Monica yesterday.

            “Yeah, you get him, Irene!” Monica shouts from the sidelines. “Show him that you are not weak!”

            When Daniel gets up, the two circle. Daniel manages a punch to her abdomen but she recovers quickly and punches him hard in the eye before he could even move to block the punch. He punches her in the ribs. She stumbles back but comes back into position a minute later. The girl must be very pain tolerant.

            The fight lasts for another three minutes and by that time, Irene lands a punch to his abdomen and due to exhaustion, he barely gets up on his feet. Irene wins that fight.

            The fight between Matthew and Freddy doesn’t last long. I bet all my Dauntless credits that Freddy probably learned every self-defense move in the book. Erudite kids know what they are getting into when they transfer. Freddy has Matthew unconscious after three minutes.

            Of the Abnegation transfers, it will be hard to tell at this time on who will stay after the first stage.


	16. Chapter Sixteen

            “Since Four is going to take the transfers to the fence today and that they will have free time today, we should get caught up with our paperwork,” Eric says the morning on the third day of initiation. “Unless something from Erudite comes up.”

            I snort as I stop by my office. “I hope not.”

            “We can’t control everything, Tris,” he points out.

            “I know,” I say, before going into my office and shut the door behind me. If I had my way, I would put a gun to Jeanine’s head; kill her before she carries out this atrocity. But killing her wouldn’t solve anything.

            Usually, I check for messages in my inbox but I decide to check my inbox after I do my paperwork in case we have received any messages from Jeanine’s staff. Working over eight pages of paperwork is actually preferable to helping to plan the attack.

            Unfortunately, it only takes eight minutes to complete the paperwork and afterwards, I reluctantly check my inbox to see if there are any new messages. There are three. The first is a message from Veronica regarding if the initiates would fit the criteria for patrolling the factionless sector. The second was a reminder regarding Visiting Day, that the deadline to arrange a visit with family members is the day before. I already scheduled visits with my family in both Erudite and Abnegation. My visit with my parents will be in the morning, while I’ll visit Caleb in Erudite during lunch. The Erudite Residential Office gave me information what building he lives in as well as the apartment number.

            It will be nice to spend some time with my family, especially my parents before the genocide happens. Eric says that they’ll probably see the writing on the wall soon enough. Should I warn them as soon as I know the day of the attack? Will I able to warn them in time? The questions are mind boggling.

            The third and final message is from Erudite. Opening it, I see the header **_The Simulation will begin at six AM and will end at six in the evening on September 28 th, 2267_**.

            I feel my hands shaking as I look at the list of instructions:

            _One: Get up at four thirty in the morning and put on your jacket in which you have sewn on the armband with the Erudite emblem. Eat a good breakfast and pack lunch._

            Lunch? Jeanine expects us to pack a lunch and eat it when people are being slaughtered? That’s just sick and cold.

            _Two: Prepare your Genetic Sensors and prepare the weapons in the cavern before the start of simulation._

_Three: If you see any Dauntless that is aware when they shouldn’t be, put the Genetic Sensor to their face. Any individual with a Divergence of ten to fifty percent must be eliminated on sight immediately._

            Of course, because they would be useless to Jeanine.

            _Four: Herd twenty Abnegation members and dependents into their clothing distribution center at a time so their genetics could be read. Like above, anyone who is fifteen and with a Divergence of seventy to one hundred percent be spared and sent to Erudite custody. Those with weak Divergence will be executed alongside their faction._

_Five: In the areas of interest in regards of the Box, scan floors and walls for metal and if detected, mark the area with a red ‘X’ and detonate the area at two thirty in the afternoon._

Jeanine must have had the date and time scale of this all planned out beforehand and she just delivered the rules and date of the attack today. I quickly exit out of it and decide to do any more work for the day.

 

* * *

 

            “Have you checked the betting charts?” Christina asks me when we go through the buffet to get our lunch.

            I snort as I pour hamburger gravy on my mashed potatoes. “You think I want to? I’m not interested in seeing the initiate’s struggles like it’s some form of entertainment.”

            “I could see why that turns you off,” Christina says. “As you said, it’s not like our struggles are entertainment.”

            “They don’t know these kids anyway, as it is,” I say. I put the peas between the mashed potatoes and the steak before going over to the usual table.

            “Where is your boyfriend?” Zeke asks as I sit down.

            I look around. “Oh, Eric? Probably tied up with something. You know how Max can get, so…”

            “Good riddance, I say,” says Tobias. “It’s not like I’m fond of sitting here anyway.”

            “Then why do you keep sitting at the same table during meal times?” Shauna points out. “You two hate each other.”

            Tobias doesn’t say anything in response. Originally, we would sit together because I was friends with Uriah and Zeke would want to sit with his brother, of course. It’s been months since Uriah’s body was found near the Pire, and I guess for some it’s still painful to say his name or even bring him up.

 

* * *

 

            The rest of my shift was spent fixing the errors on computer programs and monitoring the factionless sector from the control room. Everything appeared okay from a distance. Ten minutes before I finish for the day, I take a look at the ranks of the transfers.

            Freddy was currently ranked first with Daniel just beneath him. Monica and Neville were third and fourth respectively. Irene’s name was no longer in the red, her number currently sixth. Serena is slowly inching her way from the bottom.

            The night before Visiting Day, we’ll round up the final points and those below the redline will get cut. It will be hard to let some people go, but in hindsight, those who will cut will not realize how lucky they are. Factionless is preferable then being wound up like a tin soldier to commit murder or even participating in the atrocity.

            Maybe I should have just failed initiation last year. Living a life of factionlessness and receiving charity from my former faction is a preferable fate then participating in this upcoming bloodbath. However, I don’t know if that’s what would have been best anyway.

            When the clock strikes six thirty, I lock my office up for the night and head to the apartment. When I open the door and step inside, I see a box wrapped golden paper and bound by a black ribbon sitting on the coffee table. Eric was already here as I could smell dinner cooking.

            “Just in time,” he says, looking at me.

            “What is the book for?” I ask him.

            “Technically, our first anniversary of being together is the first day of stage two of initiation, but occasions like these could be celebrated early,” he says.

            “Oh,” I say. My mind has been too wrapped up on what was going to happen that I never thought of this being our first year together. In fact, my mind never crossed the idea about our first anniversary. “Truth is, I’m been too occupied with initiation and my mind has been too focused on –”

            “It’s alright,” he says. “No hard feelings. The past few months have been difficult for you.”

            Difficult was an understatement. Hopefully a nice dinner would help alleviate the stress I had built up today.

            He fixed up a meal of mashed potatoes, steak, and miniature vegetables; serving them with red wine lace grape juice. We set our plates on the coffee table and halfway through eating, he hands me the parcel.

            “Here,” he says. “There is something you might really like.”

            I put down my fork and untie the ribbon before tearing open the paper. I see a book with a green cover and the words _Psycholinguistics_.

            “Why, thank you,” I say awkwardly. Not that the subject interested me but –

            “Open it,” he says, interrupting my thoughts.

            I open the book and I see that he has cut a large square hole in the book but what catches my attention is the ring with a medium sized, black stone; tied inside the book. My heart thumps loudly in my chest and butterflies fly in my stomach as I pick up the ring from the hole.

            “Beatrice Prior, I could quote Shakespeare but that would be too saccharine and archaic,” he says. “I am a practical man. There are over a dozen variations of words I could use for this moment but they have the same meaning. Erudite and Abnegation have been at odds with each other since the beginning of the faction system, though that doesn’t prevent me from wanting to spend the rest of my days with you.”

            I know what he’s saying. He wants to marry me. It’s a marriage proposal. Marriage proposals vary by faction. In Abnegation, the couple would each exchange one grey stone. When they get married, it’s a quiet affair. They sign papers at the Hub confirming their union and the couple return home where they share a meal with close acquaintances. In Dauntless, marriage proposals are done publicly.

            How he proposed is probably an Erudite tradition.

            On a personal note, how could I deny him after all we have been through together? How could I prefer a life of factionlessness when this Erudite-born man, who holds my heart in his palms, just proposed to me? I could never imagine life with anyone different then him.

            I look at him in the eye and say, “Of course I want to spend the rest of my days with you, Eric Matheson.”

            And with that, I kiss him full on the lips.

 

* * *

 

            At first, no one notices the ring on my right ring finger the next day. In fact, Tobias never even noticed right away as we watched the transfers spar the morning of day three. I thought, since I was wearing a black stone of a medium size, one was bound to notice. Dauntless engagement rings always have onyx stones of varying sizes. The rock I was wearing wasn’t large but it was still noticeable.

            It was only when we were on our way for lunch did Tobias notice the ring on my finger.

            “I wonder who the lucky man is,” Tobias says, sarcasm dripping from his voice. From his tone even, he didn’t sound too happy either.

            I turn to Tobias and say, “Tobias, what disturbs me is that it’s been a year and I thought you have gotten over it by now.”

            “You two have only been together for a year,” Tobias says. “Isn’t that a recipe for disaster?”

            “Tobias, if it were a mistake, I wouldn’t have accepted it,” I tell him with all honesty. “You think I’m stupid to go into a relationship ripe for disaster?”

            “The first is when mistakes happen,” he says. “Look at my mother. She –”

            “We’re not like your parents,” I say, turning away from him. One would think that he would get over it. Isn’t been over a year since I joined Dauntless. Not wanting to get my ring dirty, I take it off and put it deep into my pocket before going into the food line.

            However, I knew that I should make the announcement to my friends if Tobias found out just now. After getting my food, I sit at my usual table and put my ring on my right ring finger.

            Apparently, Christina notices as she sits down.

            “Oh my gosh!” She grabs my hand to look at the ring. “You’re engaged? When did he do it?”

            “Last night during dinner,” I answer.

            “And I’m sure that he didn’t bend down on one knee,” says Christina. “He does not strike as the type to.”

            “He cut a hole into a book and proposed that way,” I say.

            “Only someone from Erudite would do that,” says Christina, smiling. “Propose by putting a ring into a book.”

 

* * *

 

            “Ready to kick Four in the ass?” Eric asks me an hour before midnight.

            I grin, knowing what that meant. Shortly we’ll be playing capture the flag in the city. The Dauntless-born know, so unlike the transfers, they are still up. “Ready as I’ll ever be.”

            I’m joined by Shauna, Zeke, Lynn, Marlene, Christina, Will, and a few other Dauntless as we run towards the transfer dormitory. Tobias is there before we are and after glancing his wristwatch, he nods and I kick the door open.

            “Everyone up!” I shout, flicking on the lights. “Rise and shine! Rise and shine!”

            The transfers wake up, confusion and incomprehension on their faces; like they don’t know why they would be woken up at midnight.

            “You only have five minutes to get dressed,” I inform them. “We’re going on another field trip.”

            A few minutes later, the transfers are following through the compound and out into the night. The Dauntless-born are already there, like last year. The guns are nowhere in sight. They are probably in duffle bags on the train already. Eric and Tobias had both spent the afternoon loading all twenty-two guns with the Neuro-Sim bullets.

            Once all initiates and all four initiate instructors are aboard the train, Eric and Tobias both drop the duffel bags onto the ground.

            “The game is simple,” says Tobias. “It’s capture the flag. Its Dauntless tradition and we expect you to take this seriously.”

            Eric and I both open the duffel bags and pick up our own rifles. “Weapon of choice,” Eric says, holding up his own gun to demonstrate.

            Monica snorts, shakes her head, and asks, looking at Irene, “You call that a gun?”

            I bite my lip and glance at Eric. Eric moves the barrel, points the artificial rifle at Monica, and shoots at her leg. Her back hits the metal, crouches, and she groans in pain. One could even see it on her face. Tobias glares at Eric. Not that I approve, but Eric would have demonstrated the bullets sooner or later.

            Eric approaches her and takes the bullet from her leg. “Neuro-Sim bullet,” he says, holding it up for demonstration. “Simulates the pain of a real gunshot wound. Only lasts two minutes.”

            Monica glares at Eric while Irene and Serena both look nauseated before exchanging glances. I’d be sick too. In fact, I might even get shot by one of those.

            “Two teams,” says Eric. “Tris and I will captain one team while Four and Christina captain the other.”

            Four and Christina exchange glances before Tobias says, “You pick first.”

            “Alright,” says Eric, looking smug as usual. He whispers to me, “Take your pick.”

            I glance around the car, seeing who I might want on our team. Deciding that the both of the Abnegation transfers shouldn’t be picked last, I say, “Matthew.”

            Tobias glances around the train car. “Irene.”

            “Leslie,” says Eric.

            “Serena,” says Christina.

            Like last year, when Eric picked me for his team, laughter is heard in the car.

            “Oh, shut up,” I say. Everyone in the car quiets down and I look around the train car. “Freddy.”

            “Daniel,” says Tobias.

            “Monica,” announces Eric.

            “Neville,” says Christina.

            “Jason,” I say.

            “Nita,” says Four.

            “Which leaves Addy, so she is us,” says Eric. “Dauntless-born initiates left.”

            We sort through the Dauntless-born initiates. Tobias’s and Christina’s team have members that are in silhouette when it comes to their stature with a few exceptions. Like last year. Eric’s and my team are composed of both broad and strong initiates, though there are those who have small and slender build.

            Eric and I go first. We jump out of the moving train, with the initiates following closely after; either stumbling or not.

            “Listen up!” Eric shouts as the initiates crowd around us. “No horse playing when we look for our base. Do not even pull the trigger before it’s time to look for the other team.”

            “What if we run out of bullets after we started looking for the other team?” Freddy asks.

            “Then you’re out of luck,” I say. “Come on. Let’s get a move on!”

            We lead the team through the darkened city. Fortunately, there is a crescent moon high in the sky, therefore not making it so dark.

            “What location do you have in mind, Eric?” I whisper to him.

            “Using the same location is plain idiocy,” he says. “We’ll lose to Four if we use the park again.”

            I know what he means. Of course one is bound to use different locations to guarantee success in a game like this.

            We approach what looks like an old shipping yard. There are crates sitting on the ground, nearly everywhere. There is a lighthouse not far from where we are standing.

            Eric pulls the luminescent flag from his pocket. “Alright, listen up! In ten minutes, the other team will find their location. Do not waste that time to formulate a strategy.”

            “Shouldn’t we look for the other team before we begin anything?” asks Addy, who’s standing behind a tall Dauntless-born initiate.

            “In fact, you are correct,” I say, taking the flag from Eric’s hand. “You get to put the flag inside the top of the lighthouse and guard it. Monica, look for their whereabouts.”

            “Got it,” says Monica, before rushing to whatever she’ll use to scout for the team with.

            As Addy goes to the lighthouse, Matthew asks, “Which team won last year?”

            “We did,” says Eric, looking smug about that fact. “We flattened Four’s team last year and we’ll flatten his team again.”

            “Isn’t that rather selfish to crave a second victory?” Matthew asks frowning. “Shouldn’t the other team win this time around?”

            “It doesn’t hurt to crave for more victory,” Eric says, raising an eyebrow. “Besides, shouldn’t you drop that Abnegation habit? You’re Dauntless now.”

            A few minutes later, Monica comes running towards us, looking excited. “I found the other team! They are at the park by the end of the Navy Pier.”

            At the old spot?

            “Excellent,” says Eric, clapping his hands together. “Why don’t we surprise them?”

            We split the team into groups. Two of them guard the area outside the lighthouse, while the two groups of seven – one led by me and the other by Eric – overtake the team from two sides.

            My group decides to take the right side and the six initiates run behind me. As we get closer to the park, I tightly grip my weapon, ready in case someone shoots. When we reach the park, shots ring out and I hear moans of pain coming from both sides.

            A tree – where the flag is hanging – is guarded, but it doesn’t take long for Monica and Leslie to shoot down the two guarding the tree. As they approach the tree, Leslie is shot in the leg by Daniel and I later respond by shooting him in the calf.

            Monica returns with the flag in her hand, looking triumphant and ecstatic. I and those that were the first to recover from the Neuro-Sim bullets surround her, cheering in victory.

            Deep down, I feel as if introducing the initiates to this form of comradery is wasted, considering what will happen.

 

* * *

 

            Early that morning, after a few hours of sleep, I go to the tattoo parlor; where I see that Tori is the only one present at the moment.

            As she cleans her utensils, she smiles at me when she notices me. “Morning, Tris. How are the initiates?”

            “The transfers?” I ask. “They are good. I’m overseeing them this year, as Eric is overseeing the Dauntless-born this year.”

            “That’s good,” she replies. “They need someone better for that.” And as if to shift the conversation, she asks, “Come for another tattoo?”

            “Yes,” I answer. “Another raven to join the three already on the side of my collarbone?”

            The three ravens symbolized my family. The ones I have left behind to join Dauntless. Family is not bound my blood and my parents and brother are still considered my family, regardless of faction differences. The fourth and newest raven will represent my newest addition to my family.

            Technically, I consider Eric as part of my family. Not only that. He’s half of me.


	17. Chapter Seventeen

            Visiting Day. Last year, I was unsure whether my family will visit me. This year, it will be different. Instead of them coming here, I go to them. It will feel odd to stand in my childhood home for the first time in a year, when everything has changed so much.

            I ponder what to tell them. Should I tell them that I’m engaged? Father doesn’t like Eric, as evidenced by the meeting in October. Mother seemed as if he didn’t faze her when she visited Dauntless last year, but will she approve of him? Or should I tell them about the upcoming attack? Will I be straightforward or give a hint that they would be able to correctly guess?

            During breakfast, Eric provides an answer. “You could hint it to them. Tell them to watch the reports. That the major red flag is when they stop all of the sudden.”

            “What about Caleb?” I ask. “He knows about the serum but due to his Abnegation background, Jeanine is most likely going to hide her intentions from him.”

            Eric pauses before he says, “Let’s go my office. There will be something that you should give to him.”

            After a elevator ride to the tenth floor, the two of us go his office and once inside, Eric takes out a USB drive from his desk drawer.

            “Only someone skilled with computers can hack into the Erudite messaging servers,” Eric says as he hands it to me. “It contains messages between Jeanine and some of her scientists, as well as messages between her and Max in the past two months.”

            “How should Caleb view these messages without getting caught?” I ask.

            “As far as I know, Erudite lab technicians have their own tablets,” Eric answers. “Tell him that he should view them on his tablet in private and that to make sure no one is watching. And don’t lose sight of that USB drive.”

            “I will be careful,” I say.

 

* * *

 

            At eight o’clock in the morning, I catch the train that goes through the Abnegation sector and Candor. I stand by the door, letting the breeze hit me as the train travels through the city. By now, initiates in all factions are wondering if their parents would show up. The transfers in Dauntless are probably even more nervous, considering the nature of the faction.

            That was me a year ago.

            When the train slows down and I catch a glimpse of Abnegation, I jump from the train; landing on both my feet. I dust off the sleeves of my jacket with my hands before approaching the grey, square houses.

            The Abnegation streets are still spotless as they were when I left. However, it doesn’t help to think that in a few weeks, these streets will be ridden with bodies with the sounds of gunshots and screams piercing the air. I close my eyes and shake my head, trying to rid myself from those thoughts.

            There are not too many Abnegation walking in the streets and unfortunately, they gaze at me for a few seconds before returning to their previous tasks. That’s the problem when one transfers from Abnegation to another faction: they don’t blend into the buildings.

            When I approach the door of my old home, I hesitate before knocking. A few seconds later, the door opens and there stands my mother; looking the same as she did the last time I saw her. Wearing the same dress and her hair styled in that simple twist.

            She smiles warmly at me and says, “Hello, Beatrice.”

            “Mother,” I say, touching her shoulders. The Dauntless manifesto discourages politeness, however, its protocol for all faction leaders to respect the different ways faction members greet each other. No matter what their manifesto says.

            “You can come inside, Beatrice.” she stands back and opens the door wider. “It is Visiting Day.”

            I hesitate before stepping inside the house I called my home for the past sixteen years. I should have this reminiscent feeling of being back home but instead, it’s like I’m intruding on soil that doesn’t welcome me. I take off the black boots and put them by the door.

            “Where is father?” I ask, looking at her.

            “He’ll be here shortly,” she says. “He knows you’re coming and he wants to see you before you leave. Do you want coffee? I know you probably had breakfast at Dauntless.”

            “Yeah, coffee would be great,” I say. I follow her into the kitchen, taking off my jacket and wrapping it around my arm. Here, I am not afraid to reveal my Abnegation tattoo. For a moment, I’m silent as I watch mother move around the kitchen to prepare the morning coffee. On mornings when she would cook breakfast, I watched her, like all children do their mothers.

            I always envied the fact that she would lose herself when performing tasks to serve others. Mother is a natural when it comes to selflessness, something that Caleb inherited from mother.

            “Have you took in transfers since Caleb and I left?” I ask.

            “Yes,” she answers, looking back at me. “And they didn’t give us any trouble. They are interested in helping and serving others before themselves. This year, we are hosting a Erudite transfer. She is interested in using her knowledge for the benefit of others.”

            Instead of dormitories, Abnegation couples whose children have either transferred to other factions or moved into their own dwellings within Abnegation take in transfers. The intention is that it would teach the transfer firsthand about selflessness, something that a dormitory wouldn’t provide.

            Mother looks down at my right hand and approaches me. She takes my hand and looks at the ring on my finger. I search for her reaction. However, she doesn’t seem to be critical.

            “Beatrice, a lot happens in one year,” she says. “Who is this special man that proposed to you?”

            “Would I approve if I tell you?” I ask.

            “Beatrice, you didn’t make a mistake when it comes to Dauntless,” she says. “You wouldn’t make a mistake when it comes to men.”

            “He’s a fellow Dauntless leader,” I say. “You have probably spoken with him a few times.”

            It’s like she knows who I’m talking about. In fact, it’s like that she is not surprised by it either. “I would have guessed that he felt something for you,” she answers. “When Eric looked at you when he told me how well you were doing last year, I saw it in his eyes. There was no denying that he liked you.”

            “Mother, have you ever had the feeling that someone tear down their walls for you?” I ask. “That’s what he did. He has torn down that Dauntless armor for me.”

            “Relationships require people to tear down their walls,” mother says, smiling. “It helps the couple grow together. That way they know each other better.”

            I nod. “When he’s around everyone else, he is intimidating, ruthless, and cruel towards them,” I say. “But not with me. Not with his friends. With me, it’s like I know a different person.”

            “It’s not unusual in Dauntless to be perceived one way by one group of people and being perceived another by your closest friends and family.” Mother sighs. “Unfortunately, the kind-hearted don’t last in Dauntless for a long time.”

            Mother was once Dauntless before transferring to Abnegation or so says the records. The Erudite doubt that she was even born here anyway.

            I hear the door open and father asking, “Natalie? Is Beatrice here?”

            “I’m here, father,” I answer as I step out of the kitchen to meet father in the living room. Father looks as if he aged slightly. Probably the stress from the reports and what he has been doing. When he looks at me, it’s not with contempt. Instead, he faintly smiles at me.

            “Look at you,” he says. “Even with the tattoos, you’re no different than when you left.”

            “So I’m not just like any other Hellion?” I ask.

            “Beatrice, you’re still my daughter,” he says. “After you left, there was a period where I was selfish. That selfishness is to blame for why I didn’t come to visit you on Visiting Day. I was more concerned with what the Erudite were going to pull from their sleeves then acknowledging that you would have been miserable had you stayed. Beatrice, if you chose Dauntless, then that is your identity, but you will still be my daughter.”

            I notice that he doesn’t mention Caleb. Caleb did choose Erudite, so most likely he’s not over that. I guess father would rather have Caleb join Dauntless then Erudite. However, I decide to not bring him not and hug father.

            After we pull apart, he smiles. “You look just like your mother when I met her.”

            I wonder, does father know that she was probably not actually Dauntless but somewhere else.

            It’s not long before the coffee is ready and the three of us sit around the table after mother brings out the coffee mugs. If only Caleb was here and the family would look intact.

            “Have you read the recent Erudite reports?” father asks as I take a sip of coffee.

            I set down my mug and nod. “Yes, and they worry me. Recently I have heard that some Erudite parents have pulled their children out school and teachers have abandoned their posts.”

            “There has been tension between Erudite teachers and Abnegation students before that,” says mother, shaking her head. “Erin’s daughter came home in tears because her mathematics teacher failed her without looking at her assignment.”

            “With the way the reports are going, I’m not surprised if the Erudite have some nefarious plan in mind,” says father. “The more I read these reports, the more I think that they will result in a revolt or maybe genocide. Marcus hopes to get into the Erudite messaging servers today to see what they are up to.”

            As Eric predicted, they see the writing on the wall. They know which direction the wind is blowing. It won’t be hard to tell them what will happen.

            “Oh, if you only knew,” I say, my voice breaking. “If you knew what Erudite and Dauntless are planning, you’d be scared to death.”

            They both look at me. “Beatrice, is Jeanine planning to overthrow the government?” father asks.

            “Worse,” I say before lowering my voice in a quiet whisper. “You probably have something that Jeanine wants and she’s willing to slaughter most of the faction to get it.”

            They seem to piece it together. “She’s going to use the Dauntless as her muscle for this?” father asks.

            “Yes, but ninety percent of the faction members will not be aware of the atrocities they will commit,” I whisper. “Jeanine is going to use a serum to control them.”

            “Do you know what day and time this will happen?” mother asks.

            Before I could answer that, I hear the door open. I jolt, thinking that the Dauntless were somehow listening in. Instead, the person is a young girl in grey. When she passes by the kitchen, she stops when she looks at me and pales.

            “Nothing to fear, Noelle,” says mother in a reassuring manner. “This is our daughter coming to visit for Visiting Day.”

            “Speaking of which, did your parents come?” dad asks.

            She shakes her head, her shoulders bowed. “They wouldn’t want to step in here. My parents hate this faction anyway, so I’m not surprised.”

            She goes towards the stairs and once I heard her feet reach the second landing, I ask, “Is she the Erudite transfer you took in?”

            “Yes,” says father. “The last Erudite transfer to Abnegation was two years ago. She’s doing a superb job of performing community service and as your mother would have told you, she channels her knowledge selflessly.”

            “A few days ago, she fixed a leg wound of a factionless woman,” says mother. “Her parents must be involved in medicine.”

            At first I ask why she didn’t tell them that information if that is the case, but I remember that Abnegation initiates are not allowed to speak about their past; that it’s selfish for them to. Since she was in Erudite, she probably researched the Abnegation initiation program.

            “Does she think that something is going to happen?” I ask.

            “She’s been talking about how Jeanine must be hiding something from Erudite, as most of the Erudite is anxious,” father says. “You never want to deprive an Erudite of information, because they will go mad.”

            “You said that knowledge leads men to darker places,” I point out, frowning.

            “Yes, but if Jeanine is hiding something from most of her faction, that means that she wants to avoid a coup,” father says.

            I look around and say, “Trust me that you leave here before six in the morning on September twenty-eight. That’s when the simulation will begin. You need to get out of here before the clock strikes six that morning. Take Noelle with you.”

           

* * *

 

            When I go outside of the house with father, twenty minutes before my train is scheduled to arrive, he says, “You’re wearing a black ring on your right ring finger.”

            “Yeah. So?” I ask, turning to face him.

            “Dauntless engagement rings usually have onyx stones,” he notes. “There would be no other reason for you to wear one.”

            I blow air from my nose and run my hand through my hair. There is no way I could hide this from him. “I have been seeing this guy for a year since initiation started. He’s one of my fellow Dauntless leaders.”

            Of course, father narrows it down to Eric. “That Dauntless leader who transferred from Erudite three years ago?”

            “Yeah, that one,” I say.

            I examine my father’s expression to see his reaction. From my observation, father doesn’t seem too impressed by the news.

            “Last October, I saw that you were rather close with him,” father says, crossing his arms. “Too close. In fact, before the meeting, I contemplated asking Marcus to change the sitting arrangements so that you wouldn’t be sitting next to him.”

            “What?” I demand, feeling the blood rush to my face. “You wanted to change the seating arrangements without knowing what kind of relationship I had with Eric.”

            “That was the point,” he says. “I didn’t know. I didn’t want to risk having you sit next to him if he was hostile towards you. However, I didn’t, as you say, I didn’t know.”

            “You don’t,” I say. “When I first met him, I hated him with a burning passion. I didn’t foolishly jump into a relationship with him. I thought that he was someone to be wary of.”

            “That was your intuition speaking to you,” says father sternly. “The only way for you to not listen to it anymore is if he lowered your guard down. Beatrice, one thing to consider is the reputation he has with his faction and it’s not a good one. Anyone with a penchant for brutality and ruthlessness is not a good person to hang around with or even pursue a relationship with.”

            “Father, you know nothing about him,” I point out. “Is he arrogant? Yes, but he has done nothing to hurt me. If he did anything threatening towards me, I wouldn’t go this far in the relationship. Besides, reputation is no guarantee of that person’s character. Just because someone has a squeaky clean reputation, that don’t make them pure at heart.”

            “If you are referring to the slanderous report about Marcus Eaton, I thought you knew it was a lie,” says father.

            “How could I have a opinion on a report if I had never read it beforehand,” I say. “If Marcus loved his son, if his transfer devastated him, he could have visited him on Visiting Day. Just because his reputation is clean and he appears amiable, that is no guarantee that his character is the same.”

            With that, I run from the area of the house, run towards the train tracks. I know that I shouldn’t have run from the conversation, as it is selfish. However, father needed to know that reputation and character are not the same.

 

* * *

 

            By eleven thirty, I arrive at the Erudite sector. Passing me are people dressed in the clothes of different factions. Must be parents visiting the transfer initiates for Visiting Day. The only colors I don’t see are the grey of the Abnegation. If there were Abnegation transfers, they might not see their parents as the Abnegation are prohibited from entering the Erudite sector.

            I scan the apartment buildings up ahead. The Erudite residential liaison told me that Caleb lived in the third building on the fourth floor. Apartment 8D exactly. I walk towards the cluster of apartment buildings and enter the building with a giant, golden three by the door.

            Passing through the doors, I see that the lobby is small with only two chairs, a potted plant and three lifts. I enter the center lift, close the door, and press the button 4 and it goes up.

            I could feel the sweat collect in my palms as the lift passes the other three floors in this building. It’s only been a year since I have seen Caleb as a family member and the other two times he came it was like we were just acquaintances. Has he taken ‘faction before blood’ to heart or will he still see me as a family member?

            When I reach the fourth floor, I open the gate and walk down the hallway, my footsteps barely audible against the carpeted floor. I find the polished wooden door with his apartment number on it. I knock three times and stand back a step. I hear footsteps approaching the door and a few seconds later I hear him unlocking the door before he opens it.

            Caleb stands at the doorway, wearing the blue, crisp suit of the Erudite. After a few seconds, he smiles. “Even after seeing you a few times, I have a hard time placing you in Dauntless regalia,” he says.

            “It’s hard to place you in Erudite clothing as well,” I tell him. “Probably because we’re so used to see each other wearing Abnegation clothing for sixteen years.”

            He gathers me into his arms and hugs me. I return it, since I haven’t been allowed to embrace him like this. That’s one thing I don’t like about the faction system: when one leaves their faction of origin, they are no longer considered family.

            “It’s good to see you, Beatrice,” he says as I pull away.

            “It’s good to see you too, Caleb,” I reply.

            “Are you hungry? I know it must have been a few hours since you probably have eaten breakfast,” I say.

            “Sure,” I say smiling.

            “Come in and make yourself at home,” he says, opening the door wider. As I enter, I take in my surroundings. The apartment has blue walls with white carpet. The small living area is on the right while the kitchenette is to the left and from there I could smell a meal being made. In the living room, white leather chairs and a white leather sofa surrounded a glass top coffee table and behind the sofa are two large bookcases. Off the living room in front of me is a corridor that leads to a bathroom and bedroom. I look over to the wall by the coat hooks and see a plaque bearing the words:

**_The Erudite faction congratulates_ **

**_CALEB PRIOR_ **

**_For completing his_ **

**_SCIENCE MAJOR_ **

            “You majored in Science?” I ask, taking off my black jacket.

            “Yes,” he says. “Science has always fascinated me since I was young.”

            “I see,” I say, taking off my boots. “Science has never interested me. Cooking salmon and brown rice?”

            He pauses before saying, “You have a Abnegation tattoo on your right shoulder.”

            I look down at it. “Oh. I got it during initiation last year.”

            “Does everyone know that you have that?” he asks. “Because it would be very risky if they did.”

            “Considering how Dauntless is, I don’t showcase my shoulder tattoos in public,” I say. ‘The Abnegation are considered fodder for elimination in Dauntless standards. Only the tattoo artist that drew it and my boyfriend know about it.”

            “Your boyfriend?” he asks. “Are you referring to that Dauntless leader that I have seen you with when you made your few trips to Erudite?”

            “What gave you that idea?” I ask, wondering how he could have guessed that correctly.

            “You two stand in close proximity with each other,” he says. “That means you two are in some of relationship.”

            “Oh,” I say. “Well, you could say that we’re in a serious relationship.”

            “How serious?” he asks.

            I sigh. Like every Erudite, he likes specifics. “Serious as in living together and being engaged.”

            “Engaged? How long have you been with him?” Caleb asks.

            “Since stage two of my initiation,” I answer honestly. “We’ll be together for a year.”

            Looking at Caleb, I see that is expression is the one he would wear whenever I forgot to perform a selfless act when we were younger. He looks as if he might scold me.

            “I don’t know, Beatrice,” he says, concern in his eyes. “That guy looks as if he’s got a _Danger!_ sign hanging around his neck. Also, Kendall has told me horror stories about him during initiation last year.”

            I roll my eyes. “First father and now you. If Eric hurt me, he would have done it months ago. I’m not that stupid.”

            “Well, isn’t he too old for you, Beatrice?” asks Caleb.

            “Nineteen and seventeen isn’t that worrying of a age gap,” I remind him and to change the subject, I ask, “Who is Kendall?”

            “One of my classmates from initiation last year,” he says. “She transferred from Dauntless.”

            “Oh, no wonder she told you horror stories,” I say. “With Eric, if you get on the wrong foot with him, you are bound to get problems with him. If you are his friend and significant other, not so much.”

            Caleb nods but still doesn’t look convinced. I turn and look out the window, where I see people below me walking down the sidewalk; though some are hurrying down the streets.

            “How has work been?” I ask.

            “Not too bad,” says Caleb. “Dr. King loves to keep us busy when working on a particular solution.”

            “What are you doing lately?” I ask, turning towards him.

            “Jeanine ordered him to have us mass produce that simulation serum,” Caleb says. “For some reason, she’s not disclosing the reason why she invented it in the first place.”

            I knew it. After all, genocide is not something one discloses to the public.

            When the food is done, we both serve ourselves our share of seasoned salmon, brown rice, and mixed vegetables.

            “Anything important going on in Dauntless?” Caleb asks me.

            “Well, is anything important going on in Erudite?” I ask, cutting up my salmon.

            Caleb hesitates, like he is unsure to answer that until he says, “Something big is going to happen. I don’t know what, but something is wrong. People keep rushing around, talking quietly. My friends and coworkers would talk quietly in groups, only to separate whenever Jeanine or any other Erudite higher ups would approach. Almost every day now, Jeanine gives speeches about how corrupt Abnegation is all the time, almost every day.”

            I want to ask, “Do you believe her?” but due to the current circumstances, I ask, “Have you been following the pattern of the reports?”

            “A few people who I know are and are encouraging me to do so,” says Caleb. “Randolph Goldstein, a lab technician from the Biotechnology department, told me that when hostility towards a group of people heats up, it usually leads to genocide. He’s not wrong either. Some people have gotten caught trying to hack into accounts of Erudite higher ups.”

            If Erudite faction members are desperate enough to hack into high security accounts, that means that they know something is going to happen. Another piece of evidence of information deprivation.

            “I visited my parents earlier today,” I say. “Father fears that the hostility is going to culminate in genocide.”

            “Do you know what’s going to happen?” he asks. “Lately, Dauntless members keep visiting the sector.”

            I gulp before taking the USB drive from my pockets. “One advantage Eric has is that he has computer hacking skills due to his Erudite background. Does your tablet have a USB port?”

            “Yes,” he answers warily. “Why?”

            “This contains every message between Jeanine, three of her five head scientists, and a few members of important Dauntless officials,” I say. “Make sure you are in a safe area alone when viewing the contents of this drive. Do not show this to anyone or we’ll both get into trouble.”   

            I offer him the USB drive and with hesitation, he takes it from my palm.


	18. Chapter Eighteen

            I return to Dauntless at two thirty in the afternoon and when I go to the tenth floor to go to my office when I see Tobias leaving Max’s office. Tobias tenses up at the sight of me, like he is worried that I caught him breaking the rules.

            “What?” I demand, looking at him.

            Without speaking, Tobias hurries past me towards the elevator I had just got out of.

            Huh. Something is fishy with him. I ponder telling Max that Tobias probably broke into his office but I don’t know what his intentions were. So I can’t really turn him in without knowing what was going through his mind.

            I remove that situation from my mind as I go into my office. There is bound to be paperwork for me to fill out.

            Actually, half of what I do is paperwork.

 

* * *

 

            “How was your family when you visited them at their respective factions?” Eric asks me as we have dinner at our apartment.

            “Good,” I answer before putting a piece of chicken in my mouth. “I visited my parents at Abnegation first. They have taken in a Erudite transfer.”

            “Even with the tension between Erudite and Abnegation?” Eric asks, raising his eyebrow. “I’m sure the parents of that transfer are not happy.”

            “Most likely they are not,” I reply. “They didn’t show up to visit her.”

            “That would not surprise me,” he says. “And your brother?”

            “He is doing well,” I say, wiping my hands before picking up my shot glass.

            “Did you tell your family about our relationship?” Eric asks, his voice full of gentle curiosity.

            “Yes, and there were varying reactions from them,” I say, thinking about father’s disapproval, mother’s understanding, and Caleb’s concern. “Mother was supportive. She understands that your reputation is not who you are, as Dauntless pushes one to build up walls. Father on the other hand…”

            “I guess that it’s the opposite,” he correctly guesses.

            I sigh. “He thinks that my wariness and aversion of you was my intuition and that you must have lowered my guard down. He thinks that your reputation is enough for someone to know about you. When I visited Caleb in Erudite, he said that it is like you have a _Danger!_ sign hanging around your neck and that he has heard horror stories from a fellow transfer last year.”

            “Your father and your brother are not technically wrong about me,” Eric says. “I am the type of guy that father’s don’t want their daughters to bring home. It’s only natural for them to feel protective of you when it comes to my reputation. Usually, when fathers disapprove of their daughter’s choice of boyfriend, that’s because they don’t want to give them up.”

            It shouldn’t surprise me that Eric would understand why my father and Caleb don’t approve of me being with Eric. First, because Eric would understand that he’d be easily in their place if he was older and had a daughter my age that was going out with a guy with a reputation similar to his. Second, he’s probably heard about these things from his faction of origin. I never thought of the Erudite as being particularly perceptive.

            “Though mother understands you,” I say.

            “She naturally would be, as she understands how Dauntless drives a person to bring up their defenses,” he says. “Now, on a disquieting note, did you tell your parents that…?”

            “Yes, but they already guessed which way the wind was blowing,” I say. “I told them that they should leave before six on the day of the attack and to take their charge with them.”

            “I knew they would, as any observant person could see it in Erudite’s reports against the Abnegation,” says Eric. “They probably have a plan on what to do already. Did you give your brother that USB drive?”

            “Yes and I told him what you told me to tell him,” I tell him. I sigh. “The initiates who will get cut today, they don’t know how lucky they will be. Personally, I’d rather be factionless then know what’s going to happen and have to keep it under the wraps from almost everyone.”

            “I understand but we can’t always have our way in life,” he says somberly. “We’re going to have to hang in there and trust me; everything will turn out alright at the end of whatever happens after that day.”

            I want to believe him but I don’t want to wish for hope when there will not be hope at all.

 

* * *

 

            That night, we are awoken by banging on the front door of our apartment.

            “Shit,” I hear Eric mutter irritably from beside me. “What happened this time?”

            He leaves the bed and I sit up and stretch before I stand up on the floor.

            “What is it?” I hear Eric demand. “It’s two in the morning!”

            “Someone was found at the bottom of the chasm,” says a male voice. “An initiate.”

            My hands clasp to my mouth at the pronouncement. Did someone jump because they would rather die in Dauntless then be factionless? Or was it homicide because someone was jealous because they weren’t ranked first? Hopefully it’s not the latter.

            “We’ll be right down there,” Eric says as I quickly begin changing into appropriate daytime wear. I hear him close the door as I pulled a pair of my black pants on. He comes in the bedroom and says, “They found a initiate at the bottom of the chasm.”

            “Do they have a idea about the cause of death yet?” I ask as I pull on a shirt. “Was it suicide or homicide?”

            “No but we’ll find out when we get there,” says Eric as he pulls open a drawer of the plywood dresser.

            It better not be homicide. It better not be that because it will be nastier to sort out then if someone had willing jumped.

 

* * *

 

            There is already a crowd at the Pit when we get down there, though there was a section cordoned off. Probably where the body is. We push our way through the crowd as we approach the area that is roped off.

            When we are close enough, I gasp in horror. It’s Freddy; one of the Erudite transfers. Eric bends over the rope to approach the body and I follow after him. He bends over and examines him. On his wrists are red, thick marks; like he was tied up and Eric tests the boy’s neck with his hand.

            “Homicide,” Eric says to me. “The only way a neck could be twisted in that fashion is if someone wrung their neck.”

            I taste bile as I process what was said. Who and why would someone kill an initiate? What was the reason behind it? I glance around at the crowd and see the transfers that remained looking on at the scene with pallid and horrified expressions.

            The ones missing were Daniel and Jason. They didn’t get cut but their absence is incriminating enough.

 

* * *

 

            “How good is the feed?” Eric asks Tobias as the three of us walk into the control room one hour later.

            “Good,” Tobias answers. “We already fixed the feed this afternoon so it should be good.”

            “Excellent,” I say. “We need to see the feed from the cameras the transfer dormitory and in the hallway to the transfer dormitory.”

            “You think we might find something?” Tobias asks as he sits behind his computer.

            “I have learned a lot from personal experience,” I say.

            “Okay,” he says as he brings up the feed. Looking at the transfer dormitory, it shows the initiates asleep. Either they are moving restlessly in their beds or they are perfectly still. When the time ticker says twelve thirty five in the morning, it shows Freddy leaving his bed, rubbing his neck as he leaves the dormitory.

            Shortly after he leaves, I see Daniel sit up and shake the shoulder of his neighbor to wake him up. I watch as they remove something from the mattress and stalk out of the dormitory.

            “What were they doing?” Tobias asks.

            The answer came soon enough. The two attack Freddy from behind before he could even continue drinking from the fountain. My blood boils with rage, I can taste bile, and my insides freeze over as we witness the atrocity.

            Daniel attacked his own lackey? For whatever reason?

            Looking back a few hours, I checked the final ranks of stage one before going to bed. Freddy ranked first while Daniel came in second. Jason was sixth.

            Just as I feared, he was Peter Hayes reincarnate. I should have known something was off with him but one never knows.

            “Send someone to bring Jason and Daniel to my office,” I say, my voice sounding dangerously low. “Right now.”

            The more we wait, the dangerous it would be for the other transfers.

 

* * *

 

            By four in the morning, Eric and I are sitting in my office when someone brings in Jason and Daniel. The two Candor transfers look at us fearfully, though Daniel recovers his cool and says, “It wasn’t us alright? Are you dumb enough to believe that I would attack my friend?”

            “We have cameras, coward,” I say, trying to sound menacingly as possible. “We recognized you right away on the feed.”

            I turn on the projector we wheeled in and showed them the incriminating footage. I watch as they turn ashen as they watch themselves attack their fellow initiate.

            “It is quite simple to figure out your motive,” Eric says with a scoff. “You were jealous that he ranked above you and you decided to take out the perceived threat. Like all Candor, your lackey was stupid enough to go along with it.”

            I look at them, willing all my disdain and disgust into my expression. They look as if they might wet their pants. “I’m sickened. Completely sickened. One incident after stage one in this nature. I’m repulsed. This faction does not train you to be cold blooded murderers. Due to this incident, we cannot afford to have you two in Dauntless.”

            “But –” Daniel protests before I cut him off.

            “You and your lackey are out,” I seethe. “In no condition, can we keep someone who threatens the lives of other initiates. You’re out of Dauntless.”

            “You have one hour to pack your bags,” Eric tells them. “Either leave the compound before five on your own terms or if you are still in the compound after five, we escort you out. The choice is yours.”

            Before five, the two have left Dauntless.

 

* * *

 

            “That was a good speech you did,” Will tells me during breakfast the next morning.

            I wearily nod. “I was following protocol. It would be bad anyway to call the murder victim a coward.”

            I sip from my mug of coffee. I should just go to bed, since I was up since two in the morning.

            Like she read my mind, Christina says to me. “Why don’t you take a rest, Tris. You’ve been up since two in the morning.”

            “Actually, I was thinking the same thing,” I say. “Well, I’ll be back in a few hours.”

I stand up and leave the dining hall.

 

* * *

 

Back in the apartment, I take off my boots and crash into the sofa, where I immediately fall asleep. I don’t know how long it’s been before I heard someone open the door.

“Lunchtime, sleepy head,” I hear Eric say.

I stretch my muscles and limbs before opening my eyes and sitting up. “I was trying to catch up lost sleep.”

“There is nothing wrong with that,” he says, sitting down next to me. “Max was actually kind enough to allow me to take a nap after lunch.”

“I don’t know whether I should be surprised or not at this,” I tell him. “It’s not like we have control over which characters choose Dauntless. But it’s in our control to make sure that they leave if they cause an incident like that.”

“It’s not all the time we get characters like this, but we get these characters sometimes,” Eric says. “Four likes to think that it is my fault that things like this happen. Two years ago, there were no incidents of a initiate attacking their peers.”

“For two years now, what is it with some of the Candor transfers wanting to belittle and attack their fellow initiates?” I ask.

“From what Jocelyn says, Candor honesty requires you to lose your sensitivity,” Eric answers. “There is nothing wrong with honesty, but using it all the time strips the person of any consideration they have towards people.”

I could see what he was talking about. Sometimes, the thoughts we have about someone, it could hurt them when spoken.

 

* * *

 

“How many transfers are left?” Lynn asks me during lunch.

“Four transfers,” I answer, stabbing my fork in my steak, “and seven Dauntless born. That is eleven initiates total.”

“I thought only four initiates get cut for stage one,” Marlene asks, furrowing her eyebrows.

“I planned for three initiates get cut for stage one, one for the second stage, and the rest for the third stage,” I say, shrugging as I take a bite from my steak. I swallow and continue, “But Eric is primarily in charge of the initiation process. It was his idea to have the electronic scoreboard and I guess the red line rule changed the cutting criteria.”

“At least those that were expelled didn’t save the ones who were going to get cut,” says Christina.

“I came up with that one,” I say. “That would get that initiate’s hopes up.”

 

* * *

 

After lunch, I watch as the Dauntless-born initiates and their older siblings leave the compound to go zip lining. I fondly remember the nostalgia and adrenaline that came along with it. Any Erudite would find the obsession with adrenaline illogical and idiotic but I could understand why the Dauntless would prize activities like this.

Then again, I didn’t choose them because they were tough. I admired their freedom.

I go to my office to check over things and by the time I log into my account and access my inbox, my feelings are dampened by a message from Erudite. it reminded us that since stage two started tomorrow, we were to check the simulation data of the day to look for any Divergent rebels. I am tempted to protect whoever is Divergent.

But I don’t know what good that would do concerning the simulation attack that’s coming up.


	19. Chapter Nineteen

            “Why is it that some members of technical support are sloppy in terms of file keeping?” Veronica grumbles as we both look through the files given to us. “Two of these folders have documents that shouldn’t be there.”

            “What do you think is the cause of that?” I ask. “Sudden laziness in hopes that someone else gets their job once initiation ends?”

            Veronica chuckles. “That and stupidity.”

            I nod and smile as we sort out the files given to us by the technical support staff. Today is the day that stage two starts. At this moment, all eleven initiates are going to face their fears via simulation. They will most likely be done by lunch and afterwards, I’ll go through the simulation data to check for any simulations that didn’t get recorded.

            It’s not what I want to do, but it’s not like I have a choice. I’ll track down Tobias during the afternoon to remind him to tell possible Divergents to act unaware. Even if I don’t, I’ll tell him to remind those with the short runtime. A short simulation runtime is an indicator of a Divergent I heard.

            Once we sort through the files and read over them, Veronica says, “Well, that finishes it. I’m going to the control room to make sure that the guards haven’t walked past the outer limits.”

            I nod as I gather the files to put them away. Then, I go on my computer to fix the code of the program the controls the commerce within the faction. At least I’m not in a training room all day; that I could get some things done during stage two.

 

* * *

 

            “My first simulation was horrible,” Jocelyn says during lunch. “I was standing on this tall building and there was no way I could avoid falling to imminent death.”

            “Aww, don’t tell me that Jocelyn is afraid of heights,” Sean says in a mock baby voice.

            She throws a piece of muffin at him. “Now, that’s not funny.”

            I chuckle to myself as I take a bite from my sandwich. “Well, in my first simulation I was pecked to death by crows, but I’m not actually afraid of crows.”

            “Oh, one of those symbolic fears,” Jocelyn says, raising her eyebrow. “Still, those fears are uncomfortable to go through.”

            “Talking about going through your fear simulations?” Eric asks as he joins us.

            “Oh, would you be so kind to tell us about your first simulation?” Jocelyn asks, playfully hitting him in the arm.

            Eric snorts. “Why would I want to talk about my first fear simulation? Especially within earshot of the initiates?”

            “Why are you such an uptight douche-nozzle?” Jocelyn asks, sipping her berry punch. “The Erudite that come through here are always stuffy and uptight.”

            “Oh, thanks a lot,” Eric says, rolling his eyes. “That aside, don’t be surprised if we get a shipment of trackers in from Erudite in a few weeks.”

            “Trackers?” Jocelyn asks. “What do you mean?”

            “Apparently a few Dauntless members have gone missing in the past few years while on assignment and Jeanine thinks it’s her obligation to have the engineering team ship tracking chips.” Eric rolls his eyes. “I don’t understand why now.”

            “Me either,” says Sean. “Too busy trying to see whether it was safe?”

            There is only one explanation for that. The tracking chips story is a perfect cover story to hide the fact that Erudite is up to something sinister. I don’t say anything and instead look down at my plate.

 

* * *

 

            “Tracking chips, huh?” I ask Eric as we walk into his office to review the simulation results for the day.

            “How else are we going to get them to comply?” Eric points out, closing the door behind him. “They’d be fighting getting it injected in them.”

            “What about the dependents?” I ask. “I’m sure that they would be no use to Jeanine.”

            “They will be given a sleeping serum that temporarily halts the messages of the brain,” Eric answers. “They will be told that they will be getting influenza vaccinations.”

            “Barbaric,” I mutter. Everything about this is barbaric. Not to mention horrific.

            “Now, let’s see who has a unrecorded result,” Eric says, sitting in front of his computer. I take the chair in front of his desk and place it next to him as he logs into his account. I sit down and watch closely as he enters the simulation program.

            He opens the most recent folder and I look at the list of names. Nothing labeled in red, which means that all simulations were recorded, fortunately. However, Serena’s simulation time of four minutes and ten minutes is a dead giveaway. Even Irene’s three minute and two seconds was suspicious.

            Eric notices it too. “Her simulation is recorded as it should be, but Serena’s simulation runtime is too noticeable. Four minutes is too suspicious. Likewise with Irene, though it’s three minutes.”

            “What should we do?” I ask. “Go to Max?”

            “While a short simulation time is suspicious, they have to have an unrecorded simulation in order to bring it to his attention,” Eric says. “Short simulation times are rare, though the individual is always a subject of interest because of that. They are safe as long as they don’t show awareness in a simulation.”

            “I’m going to tell Tobias about this,” I say. “To remind him to tell the initiates he suspects of being Divergent to act unaware in simulations.”

            “What good would that do considering what’s coming up?” Eric asks.

            “Yes, one would get caught but best to be caught later then sooner,” I point out. “Besides, it’s not like they know what’s going to happen.”

 

* * *

 

            Looking at the control room feed, I see that Tobias has gone into the fear landscape room with a syringe of fear serum. So, I backlog the feed to five hours ago and stand outside the room and wait for him.

            The door opens and when he sees me, his eyes widen and he takes a step back before recovering himself. “Tris. I didn’t see you there. What do you want?”

            “Mind if I talk to you in the observation room?” I ask. “It’s about the simulations.”

            Tobias’s eyes widen, though it’s not like he’s surprised. “Okay.”

            I open the door to the observation room and turn on the lights. The observation room looks the same as it was the last time I was in here for my final examinations. The wires are strewn across the table where the Dauntless leaders will sit to observe the simulations. To think that I will view the other initiate’s fear landscapes sends a shudder through me.

            I recover my thoughts and turn to Tobias, “Though all simulations are recorded, Serena’s and Irene’s simulations had too short of a runtime. Even Eric noticed it.”

            “I thought it was suspicious too,” Tobias notes. “I’m hoping that it was just sheer bravery and nothing else.”

            “Will you do me a favor and tell them that they need to act unaware?” I ask. “Because one unrecorded simulation and Max will summon Jeanine Matthews to examine the footage.”

            “I don’t want her here either,” says Tobias. He pinches his nose and says, “I’ll see what I can do.”

            Hopefully, he warns her as early as tomorrow morning and that there would be no unrecorded simulations. Because I don’t want to deal with Jeanine Matthews coming in to analyze simulation data after hearing of an unrecorded test result.

 

* * *

 

            The next morning was spent monitoring the feed in the control room. Everything appeared normal in the Dauntless compound that didn’t appear troublesome and in the factionless sector, the factionless were foraging through bags and dumpsters while others pass around cans to share their dinner as the guards watch.

Nothing to worry about.

After lunch, I look through the simulation data. Alone this time as Eric was on his survey patrol in the fence. Looking at the data, everything appeared fine until I got to Irene’s name. Her result was coded in red, meaning that it was reported manually.

I know I should flag it as an unrecorded result but Jeanine will come to Dauntless regardless of whether I flagged it or not. Like she did last year the night of the attack.

After looking through the other simulation results, which are all recorded to the system, I leave my office. I have to speak with Tobias, regarding Irene’s simulation result. To see what his version of events were so I could report them to Max.

Tobias would deny the Divergence of a initiate because of the presence of cameras in most areas of the compound.

 

* * *

 

I go to the corridor where Tobias’s apartment is located. At this time of day, he should be here. If not, I’ll go to the control room to see where he is. That way I can actually pinpoint his whereabouts.

I knock on the door and it takes him a moment to answer. Upon seeing me, his body slouches and he takes on a look of relief.

“I honestly thought it was Eric coming to prod me some more about the simulation results,” Tobias says, opening the door wider so that I can enter.

As I enter into his tidy apartment, I ask, “What did you tell Eric?”

Tobias closes the door and looks at me before saying, “I told him that it was water damage. That water damage was the reason I couldn’t record her simulation.”

I cross my arms and bite my lip. Saying that the initiate has gone under the weather or that the computer overheated is one thing, as they are believable, but water damage? Eric is most likely going to be skeptical. You can’t hide things from a former Erudite.

“Water damage?” I ask skeptically, narrowing my eyes.

“He didn’t seem like he believed it either,” Tobias says, rolling his eyes. “Though it isn’t difficult for an Erudite-born like him to be suspicious.”

“No one could easily fool Eric, I can assure you,” I say. “Three years in Dauntless hasn’t seemed to take away his intellect.”

“Unfortunately,” Tobias scoffs. “Nothing is safe with him around.”

“Did you tell Irene what the cover story would be?” I ask.

“Shit,” Tobias mutters quietly.

“I’ll go tell her,” I say. “One never knows if Irene might get interrogated about whether –”

I hear a crackle in my headset and I put it to my mouth. “Yes.”

“Max wants all of us to meet in the conference room,” Veronica says, her voice coming in staticy. “It’s an emergency.”

What happened? “Alright,” I say before setting down my headset.

“Go tell Irene what you told Eric and tell her to repeat it if she gets interrogated about her simulation,” I inform him. “Tell her in a room where you know there are not any cameras.”

He nods as I quickly leave his apartment.

 

* * *

 

I join the other four Dauntless leaders into the conference room and drop into a seat next to Eric.

“What’s going on?” I ask him.

“Jeanine called Max a hour ago,” Eric tells me, looking grim. “Something about the simulation attack.”

It’s like a ball lodges into my throat at the pronouncement. Jeanine didn’t change anything, did she?

At this time, Max clears his throat, calling for us for his attention. “The simulation was to begin on the twenty eighth of September. However, Jeanine Matthews decided to change the day of the simulation to September twenty-third, which is the week before.”

It’s like my heart stopped at that announcement. She moved the genocide up a week?

“But what about the initiation?” I ask. “They have yet to finish stage two.”

“Like last year, we are going to move up the final examinations to three days after the stage two rankings are released. The initiates should use that time wisely if they want to succeed.”

The initiates. They don’t know what they’ll be a part of after initiation is over. They’ll have no idea of the atrocities they will commit.

At least most of them will not know what will happen. There are few that are Divergent.

“What is the reason for the change?” Veronica asks.

“Jeanine will not disclose that at this time,” Max says.

I bet all my Dauntless credits that it is about The Box. The Abnegation probably have another way to unlock its message unlike what Jeanine has in mind.

 

* * *

 

When both Eric and I go back into the apartment, I lose it. I feel my body tremble and everything around me seems to have started shaking around me. I feel sobs start to erupt from my body and I try to hang on to the wall for balance.

I feel Eric’s arms wrap around my waist.

“Tris, I’m here,” he says. “You’re not alone.”

I turn to look at him, wanting to say something only to break down into uncontrollable sobs.

He slides his arm under my legs and carries me into the bedroom, gently placing me on the bed.

“Just…leave me for a bit,” I ask him amidst the sobbing and he leaves me alone to wallow in my grief.

 

* * *

 

An hour later, I lie on the bed curled into a fetal position; having exhausted any hysterics that controlled my emotions. It’s like the shock of the schedule change registered a few minutes late and manifested itself into that bout of hysterics.

The bedroom door opens and Eric comes in, holding a tray of food. “Here,” he says, setting the tray next to me. “I figure that some food in your stomach might help you.”

I sit up and look at the food he brought me. Brown rice, seasoned salmon, and mixed vegetables. While it smells good and though I want to feel hungry, I feel numb inside.

I look at him, feeling the tears start to come out of my tear ducts. “My parents. I gave them the original date when I warned them about the upcoming attack.” Tears start streaming from my eyes. “They don’t know that Jeanine has changed the date of the attack. How will I tell them without getting caught?”

Eric brushes a tear from my face with his finger and looks into my eyes with his grey ones. “Since you warned them, they are probably paying more attention to what the Erudite are up to. They probably might hack into the Erudite messaging servers, since they receive Erudite transfers sometimes.”

It’s true, though my parents mentioned that Marcus, an Abnegation-born, was trying to get into the messaging servers to see what the Erudite are up to. Has he succeeded by now? He must have.

I want to say something but what comes out is choked sobs instead. He pulls me into his arms and runs his hand up and down my back. “Go ahead and let it out. No use keeping it all in.”

Right now, I just want to cry and release my emotions without anyone else seeing. Only Eric will see me like this, as he understands emotions.

 

* * *

 

Stage two passed with no more unrecorded simulation results and no visit from Jeanine. Since this simulation will expose Divergents, I see no logic point in her visiting to examine and analyze the footage. This will be her ruthless clean sweep of the Divergents that she missed anyway.

Unless some are smart enough to actually play along in behaving like robots, though I shudder to think how many will act very convincing to the point of actually killing innocents while knowing it. I’m just relieved that I’m actually on the leadership end of all of this.

By the end of stage two, we released the rankings, cutting one person as I planned last year. A Dauntless born by the name of Kate. That leaves us to the ten required to be accepted into Dauntless. At least no one gets cut in the final stage.

 

* * *

 

The next day, when Tobias has taken the ten future Dauntless members to the fear landscape room to explain the process, a supply truck from Erudite parks into its designated dock. Eric directs the truck to a stop and three Erudite members come out. Caleb isn’t here, which suggests that he knows nothing of what Jeanine is up to. Veronica and Ross are waiting with trolleys, to move the cargo into the Dauntless compound.

“You have the serum, I suppose?” Eric asks.

“That and thousands of syringes and cases,” answers a stern-looking, dark-haired Erudite woman.

They open the back of the truck and I see boxes of serums, each marked with the Erudite symbol and with the words FRAGILE and CONFIDENTIAL DELIVERY stamped on them. Each with a picture with what it contains.

The four of us carefully move the boxes from the truck and load them onto the trolleys. First with the sleeping serum that will be given to the dependents under the guise of flu vaccinations.

First we wheel in the sleeping simulation serum – so they can be taken to the hospital so that the dependents can receive them in half a hour – before loading the serum for the attack simulation into the trolleys.

“When do we expect to perform the injections?” I ask Eric.

“Early on the morning of the initiation ceremony,” Eric says. “The initiates will get theirs right after they do their individual fear simulations.”

I’m thankful that my initiation was the year before and that I have settled into Dauntless. These kids won’t even get a chance.


	20. Chapter Twenty

            Initiation day. To the initiates, it should be a joyous occasion that is followed by settling into the faction the next day. Unfortunately, that will not be the case.

Eric and I wake up and four in the morning, quickly getting dressed and snacking on apples before going to the conference room to retrieve the cases of serums. Max is the first one waiting for us in the conference room. There are two trolleys of black cases and on the table are four tablets.

When Veronica and Ross join us, Max speaks up. “Alright. The objective is to get all the compound covered before the faction members bring out the alcohol and get intoxicated. We should be finished injecting the serums into them before the initiates go through their final examinations.”

He assigns Eric and me to cover the apartments in the Pire. Veronica and Ross will cover the apartments below the compound.

“So, where do we start?” I ask dejectedly, looking at the tablets of addresses of the Pire.

“E-12,” Eric answers. “The residential apartments go from the second floor to sixth floor of this building.”

“Figures,” I say. At this time, most of the faction is sleeping. I hate to interrupt their sleep to lie about what will be injected in them. I wonder how many will buy the story of the precautionary trackers. Not everyone in this faction is stupid.

We take the elevator to the sixth floor and wheel the trolley out. Eric pulls out his tablet and enters the residential database. “E-12. Three occupants. Two full-fledged members and one dependent who is two years away from her Choosing Ceremony.”

I pick up two cases with the attack simulation serum and stand behind Eric as he bangs on the apartment door. It takes a minute before the door opens.

“What is it?” asks a Dauntless man, his voice a mixture of tiredness and irritation. He is still wearing his pajamas.

“We apologize for the disruption but as a precaution, we have to inject trackers into you,” says Eric.

“Trackers?” asks the Dauntless man, as I see a woman standing next to him.

“People have gone missing in the past on assignment, so as a precaution, we have to inject these trackers,” says Eric.

I expect for them to ask us further, whether people have _actually_ gone missing. Instead, the woman says, “Well, if you say so.”

We go into their apartment and place the cases on the kitchen counter where we open them. I insert the vial into the syringe. And take out the band aid and alcohol wipe. I tear open the packet and rub the alcohol on the woman’s neck before injecting the serum into her neck.

“Sorry if this is sudden but this is a precaution we have to take,” says Eric as I put the band aid on the woman’s neck. I put the syringe and vial back into the case so that they can be disposed of later.

 

* * *

 

It takes a few hours that morning to inject the residents of the Pire with the attack simulation serum. Some allowed us to inject the serums into their neck without question while others, like Zeke, demanded further explanations as to why we were injecting the trackers.

“No, I’m not allowing you to inject that thing in me until you give another reason why we need these trackers,” Zeke demanded.

“We explained it to you twice,” Eric said, the irritation slipping from his tone. “This is a safety precaution, since people went missing from their job missions.”

In the end, Zeke relented and allowed us to inject the serum.

By seven in the morning, everyone except the initiates received the trackers, we throw away the cases and retrieve the ten additional cases for when we inject them into the initiates. I look at the clock, hoping that time will drag by as to delay this atrocity.

By ten o’clock, pandemonium erupts once everyone has begun drinking alcohol. It’s just as bad as last year during my initiation ceremony. I can understand the excitement, but considering what’s about to happen in twenty four hours, all of this celebrating is pointless.

Christina and I spend two hours taking Dauntless members who have injured themselves while impaired to the hospital. We are not the only ones, as I see Tobias put a woman into a bed.

“They got to stop or otherwise most of the faction will be in the hospital before they release the ranks,” she says disgruntledly as we put the Dauntless member in an empty hospital bed.

“Tell me about it,” I say, raising an eyebrow. “I spent the entire lunch hour in Eric’s apartment last year to escape the pandemonium.”

I check my wristwatch. I have to be up in the Pire at fifteen minutes to help prepare the final simulations.

“I have to go,” I say. “I have to make preparations for the fear landscapes.”

“Don’t try to creep into their fears,” Christina says, smiling.

I manage a smile before walking out of the infirmary.

 

* * *

 

The technical support is setting up the screens as I walk into the observation room. The cases containing the syringe and vials are stacked to the side, waiting to be handled. There are five pencils and notepads on the panel looking into the fear landscape room. Everything about this feels wrong. Not only will we be observing their fears but we too will be lying about what goes into their bodies.

“All right,” says Max, clapping his hands. “We have a busy few hours ahead of us. Remember, write down what you think their fear represents on the notepad and keep track of the time. After each examination, give the initiates each their injections.”

Everyone nods and I hear a few murmurs of assent.”

“Veronica, call all the initiates for their examinations from the P.A.” says Max. She nods and leaves the room. I sit down and decide to look at my fingers. Anything to distract me from what will happen tomorrow. Anything. Anything…

I feel someone’s fingers tuck a lock of my hair behind my ear and I turn to see Eric looking at me.

“Are you okay?” he asks me.

“I hope so,” I say.

He takes my hand and runs his thumb over the onyx stone of my engagement ring. “I’m thankful of the fact that your initiation was last year.”

The same thing I feel.

“All initiates report to your final examinations,” Veronica says over the P.A. system. “All initiates report to your final examinations.”

I sigh. Looking at the ten cases standing in a stack nearby. Uneasiness forms in my stomach. Watching the initiates go through their fear landscapes is nothing compared to setting them up for war.

Tobias is the first to arrive before the initiates. They assemble around him. “You will be going into the fear landscape room according to your ranks but in descending order. The Dauntless-born are first.”

A boy named Marcus, the last ranking of the Dauntless-born initiates, approaches us and I carefully stick the needle into his neck before sending him on his way into the fear landscape room. The five of us sit at the table and connect the wires to our faces so we can view the simulations.

 

* * *

 

Fear of fire. Arachnophobia. Fear of heights. Fear of needles. Claustrophobia. I’m exposed to a variety of fears as I watch the initiates go through their fears. They have ranged typically from ten to fifteen minutes, depending on how fast they calmed down and when they resolved their fears.

At the end, the five of us would come into the fear landscape room to congratulate them for their success in completing their examinations before injecting them with the attack serum; telling them the lie that it’s a precautionary tracker. The Dauntless-born didn’t seem to question it as either Eric or I injected them with the serum.

There were only four transfers, so that didn’t take long. Monica and Addy were close apart in runtime, with Monica being eleven minutes and Addy being twelve minutes. Serena got through her fear landscape in eight minutes, the shortest amount of time compared to ten minutes. Since she has a fear of needles, Eric sedated her with the Erudite’s sedation serum while I injected the orange-brown liquid into her.

Then it was Irene’s turn. Hers only took four minutes, though to be fair; she had only three obstacles to go through: Fear of fear; fear of fire; and fear of death. Three fears. That’s impressive.

“What is it with Stiffs and having a small amount of fears?” Eric mutters in irritation.

I just shrug and pick up the case before the five of us enter the room. Irene stands when we enter, obviously trying to recover from what she faced.

“Congratulations, Irene,” Eric says. “You have successfully completed your final evaluation.”

“Thank you,” she says, looking at him warily.

“There is one more thing before you go and get ready for the welcoming banquet,” he says. Eric beckons me forward and I hand him the small black case. He opens it and takes out the syringe and vial. I watch as Irene tenses up at the sight of the serum.

“At least you’re not afraid of needles,” Eric says. “This will inject you with a tracking device that will be activated only if you are reported missing. Just a precaution.”

“A precaution? Do people actually go missing while you have cameras that record the areas of the faction?” she asks. She does not buy it obviously. When Eric approached Monica with the serum, she looked skeptical but kept her mouth shut. Though Irene is being vocal in her skepticism.

“Faction members have gone missing, though when that happens, it’s not often,” he answers with his signature smirk. “This is new development, courtesy of the Erudite. We have been injecting every Dauntless this morning, and I assume all other factions will comply as soon as possible.”

I shudder at that possibility. When I look at Irene, I see that it appears as if she swallowed a lemon. She is most likely uneasy to have something created by Jeanine Matthews injected in her. I would too.

She stares at us before turning her hair to her other shoulder before moving her neck to the side. She doesn’t look at him when he wipes an antiseptic wipe on her neck before injecting the serum into her neck. He later places an adhesive bandage on the injection site after putting the needle back in the case.

“The banquet is in two hours,” he says. “Your ranking among the initiates, Dauntless-born included, will be announced then. Good luck.”

We leave the room, so we can round up the points to determine the ranks of the ten initiates.

 

* * *

 

It doesn’t take long to determine the final rankings. Predictably Irene was first since her average runtime for stage two was two minutes and fifty seconds and she gone through three fears in four minutes. Serena was second overall. Two Dauntless-born, Jordan and Michael were ranked third and fourth respectively. Addy was ranked fifth while Monica was ranked sixth. The rest of the Dauntless-born, Krystal, Evelyn, Angela, and Marcus were ranked seven, eighth, ninth, and tenth respectively.

Fortunately we didn’t have to cut anyone for the final stage unlike last year. All ten initiates will stay.

Unfortunately, nothing will happen as expected tomorrow. As I go to the apartment to freshen up before the Welcoming Banquet, I pass by two dependents, laughing and giggling as they run through the Pit. A uneasy feeling goes through my stomach. While they are spared from being wound up like tin soldiers, they don’t know that they will not wake up the next morning until Jeanine ends the sleeping simulation.

A tear trickles down my cheek and I quickly wipe it away before going to the Pire.

At the apartment, I just freshen up by washing my face and brushing my hair before retying it into its ponytail. As I leave the apartment, I notice the two jackets with the blue armbands hanging on the wall. To think that I should show any type of alliance with Jeanine Matthews after what will happen tomorrow makes me want to vomit.

However, it seems like I have no choice in the matter.

 

* * *

 

I wedge through the crowds in the dining hall to find my way to where the leaders are standing. They are preparing the protector for when they display the rankings. I remember last year’s initiation, when I looked at my rank and felt the nostalgia of passing a difficult initiation. The joy of belonging in a faction that wouldn’t appear to accept me.

The initiates will feel that nostalgia, but a knot forms in my stomach when I think about what will happen tomorrow.

Eric approaches me and says, “They are getting ready to release the rankings.”

“Who will be doing the welcoming speech?” I ask, hoping that it’s not me.

“Veronica says she would,” Eric answers. “We didn’t protest either to the idea.”

I sigh in relief. At least it’s not me, because I don’t know if I would have been able to congratulate the initiates without breaking down into a sobbing mess. Eric puts his arm around my waist and guides me to where Jocelyn and Sean are sitting. Jocelyn hands me an black flask and I take it from her. I unscrew the cap and take a sip of the alcohol before screwing the cap back on and handing it back to her.

I hear the microphone squeal and I see Veronica standing on the table, tapping it with her fingers. When the Dauntless are silent, Veronica clears her throat. “Since we got an ancy pack of initiates” – laughter rings in the dining hall as a result, though my laughter is feels hollow – “I will keep this short. A few weeks ago, a group of initiates joined this faction and decided to take the risk of suffering through our initiation” – though it does not seem funny, I hear laughter again – “but strenuous and difficult circumstances can form a strong person and that’s what counts. I am proud to say that all ten of our initiates have become members.”

Whoops fill the room accompanied by the clanging of cups on tabletops.

“But we must not waste time,” says Veronica. “Our new members are eager to see the rankings, so here they are.”

She moves to the side so the crowd could see the ranks. Cheers erupt from the Dauntless as they try to surround the new members to congratulate them. Looking at the initiates, I see elation on their faces as they embrace each other. I’m glad they are happy.

But I leave the dining hall because I know what’s going to happen tomorrow.


	21. Chapter Twenty One

                “Tris.” I feel Eric’s elbow nudging my back. “It’s time.”

            Knowing what he means, I grab my pillow and groan. “No. I don’t want to.”

            “You have to,” I hear him say sternly. “I want no part of this either but it’s not going to do any good if you keep laying here.”

            I know he’s right. Nothing good can come out of resisting. I kick the covers off and I rub my eyes as I approach the bathroom to take my shower. I take a cold and quick shower before drying myself off and dressing myself into a pair of pants and a tank top.

            I hesitate when I look at my jacket with the blue armband, marking me as the ally to Jeanine Matthews. I don’t want to wear it but what choice do I have? With hesitation, I shrug it on and snap on the buttons.

            Twenty minutes later, Eric and I eat a breakfast of sausage, scrambled eggs, and hash brown patties. The two of us don’t talk as we eat. What is there to say anyway, since most of a faction will be slaughtered in just a few hours?

            When we are finished eating, we wash the dishes and put them in the rack to dry. We both grab our Genetic Sensors, strap the holster’s for the Genetic Sensors to our legs, and we grab our lunch pails before leaving the apartment.

 

* * *

 

            “Good timing,” says Max as we enter the cavern where the Dauntless members under simulation will get their weapons. “Jeanine will begin the simulation in a hour.”

            A lump forms in my throat. An hour. What are they doing over at Erudite headquarters? Booting up the software and getting their computerized commands ready?

            We take the assault rifles from their cartons and lay them in a heap on the table. The same with the gun straps and holsters on another table. Once that was done, Ross hands us each a gun and a holster. I strap the holster to my waist and insert the gun in.

            Max hands us tablets, where a map of the compound visible on the screen. “Marked are your designated areas where you’ll survey the Dauntless members as they march past. Look out for any signs of simulation awareness. If you do examine their genetics and detain them if necessary. When the line ends where you’re standing, go to the armored truck parked by one of the emergency exits.”

            We nod and I go over to my designated area, which is only a few yards from where I’m standing. I lean against the stone wall and close my eyes to recover my breath for a few minutes before straightening my stance.

            When I look at my wristwatch again, I see that it’s six o’clock. Jeanine must have ordered to simulation to begin by now. I feel my fingers tremble and I try not to drop the tablet I am holding.

            Minutes later, I hear the footfalls of marching. Perfect synchronized marching. An line of Dauntless members wearing battle garb come my way, all of them carrying assault rifles. They move in unison, with the same feet always forward. I search the emotionless faces to see if I could find anyone I know and the first person I see is Tobias, looking emotionless and moving robotic as everyone else. Then I see Christina and Will; both of them looking emotionless and moving like robots.

            I quickly run my fingers over my face to wipe away the fresh tears I feel running down the side of my face. My friends, they don’t have any idea what atrocities they will commit in the next few hours and I don’t want to think what their reactions will be if they find out.

            When the line of armed Dauntless members reaches its end, I go to the emergency exit marked on the map that’s currently on the tablet I’m holding. I run up the stairs and open the metal door. Then I hurry towards the armed truck that’s parked with the engine running. I slide open the door with shaking hands and jump in, the blood pounding in my ears.

            I get in the seat next to Eric, who takes my hand and squeezes it. Most likely a comforting gesture, since he knows how hard it will be for me. What is upsetting to me is that there is nothing I can do about it without risking retaliation.

            Veronica is the last Dauntless leader to get into the armored truck. “Alright, they are all on the train,” she says breathlessly.

            “Then let’s go,” says Eric as she sits next to Ross and across from Eric and I. Then I feel the wheels begin to move before we leave the area above the Dauntless compound. The insides of my stomach writhe and I squeeze his hand hard for support.

            Whatever happens in the next hour, my former faction will condemn me for just standing there and doing nothing. That I had a choice in helping them and that I willingly didn’t do anything. I could understand that, as I wanted to help them and stop the simulation but Eric said it was dangerous. That there will be repercussions from Jeanine if I tried doing anything.

            I want to help, but I couldn’t.

            The wheels of the armored truck begin to slow before the vehicle comes to a halt. Eric gets up and opens the door, allowing us to jump out. I land on my feet and look around. The army of mind-controlled Dauntless are not close by yet, but the grey houses and buildings within the Abnegation faction are quiet. Everyone is not up yet, I assume, which makes this whole thing more brutal and cruel.

            The sun hasn’t fully reached the horizon yet, but I see that there is no cloud in the sky. The air is still and I hear nothing but the chirping of birds.

            The five of us walk down the block to stand in our posts and I pass the bus stop where Caleb and I would wait for the bus and the building mom and I would buy clothes for our family every six months. I stand outside a house and wait, trying to suppress any emotions I have.

            As the crowd of Dauntless enters the Abnegation sector, the lights of the house I’m standing in flicker on. What alerted them that something bad was going to happen? Perhaps sound of the engine of the armored truck, as the engines are loud anyway.

            Then the first line of Dauntless enter the first houses on the block, kicking the doors open and I see the lights flicker on. My heart hammers in my chest, the blood pumping in my fingertips as I walk down the street.

            I hear popping noises and bloodcurdling screams, that they make the hairs of my neck stand on end. Soon enough, everyone in those streets will be alerted to the gunshots and the screaming, which will put them in the path of what’s going to happen.

            Later, I hear my headset crackle and with a shaking hand, I lift it up to my mouth. “Yeah?”

            “Report to the Eaton home,” says Max from the other end. “That’s where Jeanine wants us to look first.”

            I nod and run from where I stand, crossing two blocks. A few more pops and some screams. I look to see Tori shooting a councilmember in the head, his brains landing on the grass around his head.

            I try not to gag and I choke back sobs before running to the block where the Eaton home is located. When I reach there, I see Eric attaching mines to the door. They are going to force entry by blowing up the door?

            We step back before Eric presses the red button and the door explodes. I cover my ears to protect my eardrums and avert my eyes so that the debris doesn’t get in them. When I look again, I see the smoke dissipate from the doorway and we go inside.

            “Tris, check the upstairs!” Max shouts. I run up the stairs and open the first door I see. No one is in the bedroom. Could he be hiding in the bathroom? I open the center door and flick on the lights. I go in the room and run my finger on the side of the bathtub. It’s dry yet, meaning that it must have been hours since he used it.

            When I leave the bathroom, I hear the screams outside and look out the window. Two Dauntless soldiers are pulling occupants from the house across and forcing them to a nearby building. Among them a child. I tear myself away and go to the other bedroom. No sign of Marcus in here, though this looks like more a room that Tobias slept in before he left. I don’t understand why Marcus would hide in here anyway.

            “Can’t find him?” I hear Max ask from the headset.

            “No,” I answer. “He’s not up here either.”

            “Somebody must have warned him,” Max theorizes.

            “If someone warned him, there is nothing we can do about it,” I say. “Whoever warned him has probably evacuated from their faction by now.”

            I see Eric ascend the stairs, carrying a large sonar object. “Couldn’t detect anything in the first floor. If not there, the Box is probably hidden in the walls,” he says. He turns to me and says, “Check your parent’s house.”

            I nod, even though I do not want to go back outside where the carnage of innocents is taking place. I descend the stairs and go outside, when I try not to gag.

            At my feet is the body of a councilman, his brains everywhere. I choke back a sob as step over his head. When I leave his body, I nearly burst into tears. A few bodies are littering the street, a combination of old and young. Gunshots ring in the air and Dauntless soldiers following silent commands push people through the street.

            My feet feel like nothing but jelly as I approach the house where I grew up. Standing outside are Ross and Veronica.

            “House is empty,” says Ross. “Has been since soldiers arrived in here.”

            Relief fills me. They are alright.

            However, I must play along. “Still, we have to go inside the house and check for anything.”

            I walk past them and into the living room. It’s in disarray: the coffee table is turned over and in the dining room I see the table knocked over. I go upstairs and into Caleb’s room, where I move his dresser to see a Biology textbook fall from behind it.

            So he has hidden books. I move his desk to see another book – this time a History book – fall on the ground. As I pick up his textbooks, I hear rummaging in the other two bedrooms. I doubt they will find anything in my room and my parent’s room.

            I go outside, the books in hand when I meet with Veronica. “Nothing in the bedroom of Andrew and Natalie Prior, though I assume you found something.”

            “Yeah, these books were in Caleb’s old room,” I say.

            “Rather Erudite, is he?” says Veronica, taking them from my hand.

            “He is,” I say. From the corner of my eye, I see Ross return from my room empty handed.

            “We found nothing except for two books,” I say. “I’ll check downstairs.”

            I hurry down the steps when I see Eric enter the house with the sonar device in his arms; Max right behind him.

            “It wasn’t in the Eaton home, so we assume it might be here,” says Max. “If not, we’ll check the home of Alice and Reginald Brewster.”

            I watch as Eric slowly runs the device around the floor, checking for metal and metal deposits. One could hear the confused and terrified screams of people over the noise of the sonar equipment. Close by, I hear the sound of a gunshot.

            “Move the coffee table,” Eric prompts. Ross and I both lift up the tipped over table and move it to the other side of the room. When Eric moves the sonar device over the spot where the coffee table was and I hear the sounds of the beeps come closer together, as if he found something. He moves it over the same spot again and we hear the same sound of the beeps come closer together.

            “It looks like we found something,” he says.

            “Good,” says Max. “Spray paint over that area.”

            Eric moves to the side as Ross sprays a giant, red ‘X’ over to where the box might be at.

            A few minutes later we go outside and I feel as if my stomach might explode. The blood draining from my face. Up ahead, we see Tobias walk towards us, moving robotically though Irene is close behind him.

            From behind me, I hear a gunshot and I turn to see a grey figure fall into the street. The blood pumps faster and I resist the urge to vomit.

            Eric puts his hand to Tobias’s chest, stopping him. I frown. If Tobias is under the control of the simulation, wouldn’t he keep walking?

            Eric removes his hand from Tobias and crosses his arms behind his back. “The legendary Four. First in your class and now you’re…nothing.”

            I frown at Eric for that taunt in these inappropriate circumstances before approaching a house. If someone is hiding, I might encourage them to hide until this blows over.

            Until I thought I heard Tobias spit. I abruptly turn, only to see him standing there like a statue. Eric notices too, as he stands in front of him again.

            Max approaches Eric, his eyes narrowed in confusion and asks, “What? You think he might be…?”

            Eric pulls out the Genetic Sensor from the holster strapped around his leg and says, “There is one way to find out.”

            He puts the Genetic Sensor over his face. It lights up and spins. Only the Abnegation symbol lights up but it says, “Divergent: fifteen percent.”

            Eric looks at the device and shrugs. “You’re could pass as normal, which makes you useless. Then again, we knew that it would come to this, Four.”

            I gulp. He’s going to kill him. I just know it. Quickly, I look around to see if there is anything that might distract him from something he will most likely regret later.

            Anything.

            “We got two people trying to run away!” I hear Ross shout. Eric and I immediately run away from Tobias towards where Ross is standing. Down between two houses, we see Irene and two Abnegation members running.

            We raise our guns, though I intend to misfire. To fire at some of the members of Dauntless under simulation who are chasing them also. Not to murder but to just injure. Just to injure them.

            I put my thumb on the trigger –

            Someone grabs me from behind, lifting up my chin and grabbing my arm. I can’t see. I can’t see.

            “No!” I hear Tobias shout. “Don’t shoot them!”

I feel the gun go off twice.

            It takes two people to wrestle Tobias from me and I recover myself, breathing deeply as I look at the alley in front of me. Two people are lying dead on the ground. Walking closer, I realize with horror that they are a twelve year old Abnegation girl and Will.

            It’s like my body goes numb. I hear nothing but the ringing of my ears as I look at what I have done. I feel an arm drag me away from the scene and pull me towards the center of one of the streets.

            It’s Eric. He tells me something but I can’t hear it past the ringing of my ears. I walk away from him and walk slowly from him. Everything becomes blurry and it feels as if the ground is moving under my feet.

            Then I blackout.


	22. Chapter Twenty Two

“Beatrice?” I thought I hear Caleb ask me. I must be dreaming. It can’t be Caleb. He’s back and safe in Erudite.

            Which begs the question: where am I?

            “Beatrice,” he says again, and I open my eyes slowly in response. Above me is a bright, white, florescent light against a white ceiling. There are blue walls and it smells sterile in here. I’m in a infirmary but I’m not in Dauntless.

            I look over and see my brother sitting at the chair next to my bed. He’s wearing that look of concern on his face, like he has before when I have gotten sick. I’m glad to see him, after everything that I witnessed.

            “Caleb,” I say, trying to smile.

            “A few hours ago, they wheeled you in the infirmary,” says Caleb. “Passed out from dehydration, they said. They wouldn’t allow me to come in, since I wasn’t in government and I had to ask permission from higher authorities so they would let me come in here.”

            I hate to imagine who he asked, but now is not the time.

            “What time is it?” I ask, my throat dry.

            “It’s seven in the evening,” he says.

            Seven. Then the simulation must be over by now. Most of Abnegation is probably dead by now. I try to hold back the tears that threaten to come out. My parents are safe and that’s what matters but I can’t help but picture the lifeless bodies lying on the ground. The twelve year old I murdered. Will…

            The tears begin to trickle down my face. I killed my best friend.

            “Where is Eric?” I ask, my voice threatening to break. “I need to speak to him.”

            “He’s busy talking to Jeanine,” says Caleb and just after he said that, Eric approaches the open doorway.

            “Not anymore,” says Eric. Caleb turns to look at him as Eric enters the room. “She didn’t want to take up too much of her minutes as she is busy hooking the simulation program to The Box.”

            The Box. Jeanine has it in her hands unfortunately.

            “Thank goodness you are awake,” Eric says to me, relief on his features. “I was beginning to worry when they said that you didn’t have enough water in your system.”

            “They most likely hydrated her by now,” says Caleb. “Erudite doctors always hook people up to IVs to hydrate their bodies after they pass out from dehydration.”

            “I know,” Eric says irritably. “Don’t tell me that information as if I didn’t know.”

            I frown. That was uncalled for. I thought I explained to Eric to not intimidate my family members and treat them this way.

            Eric turns back to me. “Jeanine wants you to eat before we show up to meet her in a hour.”

            “For what?” I ask.

            Eric purses his lips and then looks at Caleb. “You, out.”

            “Who are you to kick me out of here?” Caleb demands. “She’s my sister.”

            “I can’t have you in here when I talk about top secret information,” Eric spits out, appearing irritated.

            Caleb gives him a cold glare before walking out of the room. Once he shut the door behind him, I demand, “What was that about? I thought I made it clear that you had no right to intimidate my family and act hostile towards them.”

            “You think I appreciate it being fed information as if I don’t know?” Eric asks, raising his eyebrow.

            “Still, that was uncalled for,” I say, sitting up.

            “Anyway, changing the subject,” Eric says, “Jeanine wants us to meet with her in an hour as she plans a ‘clean sweep’ of this faction at nine.”

            “Clean sweep?” I ask, figuring it out what it means with horrified comprehension.

            “She wants us to round up suspected Divergents that reside in the Erudite faction,” says Eric, looking grim about the matter. “However, the plan excludes any prominent faction members and their families. Like fellow representatives, Head Scientists, Head Psychologists, Head Historians, and the like.”

            Of course, Jeanine wouldn’t want to jeopardize her faction by connecting prominent Erudite members to the Box.

            “Does that mean your mother is safe?” I ask.

            “Since she’s connected to father by marriage, she’s safe from being rounded up tonight,” Eric says. “Those not connected through prominent figures are not so lucky.”

            Jeanine did say that she was going to have Divergents from all the five factions to try and open the Box, so that does not surprise me.

            The door opens and a stern, Erudite woman with grey hair enters the room carrying a tray of food. Salmon, rice, and avocados with a glass of water. I never realized how hungry I was until I saw her carrying the food in.

            “Since she is up, it is time for her to eat,” she says, pulling a small table over my lap where she sets the place. “Therefore, she needs her space, Mr. Matheson.”

            “No, he can stay,” I say.

            “You woke up after being unconscious for most of the day,” she says sternly. “Therefore, you need your space.”

            I sigh. This Erudite doctor is very particular about her patients being alone after something like passing out or sustaining a serious injury. So, I eat alone in the privacy of the hospital room where I’m at. My fingers shake when I hold the silverware as I eat.

            What happened to Tobias after I passed out? Did they kill him? Or is he alive somehow? What about my parents? I know they got out but where are they? Are they with the Amity, where everything is peaceful, or are they with the factionless, helping them out? I don’t know if the Dauntless are still in the factionless sector and if they are, my parents are in Amity.

            I don’t know what happened to Marcus, though I’m disappointed that he was not among the casualties. The other Abnegation didn’t deserve to die. Only he deserved to die.

            Once I have cleared off my tray, Eric enters the room. “Dr. Princeton says that you are free to leave after you have eaten.”

            “I have.” I swing my legs around the bed and place my feet on the floor before standing. I walk over to him and we walk through the infirmary. Unlike the Dauntless infirmary, the beds are closed off into different rooms and it has more of a clinical, professional setting.

            “That doctor is very particular about her patients wellbeing,” I say to Eric as we leave the infirmary.

            “Dr. Princeton has always been like that,” he says. “She always wants her patients to have their space after they have got a serious injury or have passed out like you have. But she is the best doctor Erudite has.”

            “I see,” I say, brushing the hair away from my face.

            Eric removes something from his pocket and I see that it’s the gun that I used to kill Will and that twelve year old girl. The insides of my stomach writhe and the blood drains from my face.

            With hesitation and take the gun from his hand and put it in my holster. Sometime, tonight, I can remove myself from this gun as having it on me already feels as if I’m developing poison ivy.

            We go to the fifth floor of Erudite headquarters, and there we enter a conference room. Jeanine is already there with Veronica, Ross, and Max, waiting for us.

“Right on time,” Jeanine says when Eric and I enter the room. “Have a seat. We are about to start.”

The two of us sit in the empty chairs next to Veronica and Ross. Looking at Jeanine from across the table, it’s as if my stomach is curdling like milk. She’s responsible for the deaths of most of a faction and the capture of the Abnegation who are Divergents.

“Now that we are all here, I would like to address the importance of tonight’s activities before I send you off to your assignments,” Jeanine says. “After six, I discovered that the batch of Divergents from Abnegation only consisted of twenty people, contrary to the belief that most of the Divergent come from Abnegation.”

“You think that people would actually listen to the people who administer their aptitude test when they are told which faction not to go to?” Eric asks. “When you tell someone not to do a certain action, it motivates that person even more to do it.”

“True and I admit, I was incorrect in my assumption,” Jeanine says. “Since the batch of Divergents from Abnegation are small, we need to bring in the batch from this faction as soon as possible. In other words, we need to do it tonight.”

“But we can’t round up the prominent citizens of this faction,” Max says. “You made that very clear.”

“Indeed, since they are vital to the faction,” Jeanine replies. “Tonight, we will prepare the Box for the simulations and hopefully early tomorrow morning, we’ll start with the first person.”

Darkly, I wonder how fast she’ll go through innocent people to get that Box opened. If someone opens it, who knows what she’ll do with that message. Whatever it is.

“Eric, Max, you will lead the round up process,” Jeanine says. “Examine their genetics before you put them in Erudite custody. As for the other three, you are free from any assignments and tasks for the day.”

It relieves me that I will not participate in the round up of Divergents for tonight, though that does not mean that I will not be free from participation of future round ups. That is, at other factions.

 

* * *

 

Since Jeanine deemed it illogical for me to assigned a room in headquarters when I already have a “loyal” relative within the faction, she had me stay with my brother. You would think it would violate ‘faction before blood’, but as she said, it is only logical if I slept over at Caleb’s apartment.

I discovered that Caleb’s apartment has two bedrooms instead of just one that I initially thought. It’s next to the bathroom and across from the bedroom, he sleeps in.

I told Caleb that I was tired and that I needed my rest. Looking at the medicine cabinet, I try to find nighttime pain medicine, strong enough to put me out for the night. So that I would be kept awake due to nightmares.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find what I needed.

 _Don’t avoid the reality of your actions_ , I mentally chide myself.

It’s true but I don’t want to be reminded about it every hour. However, I decide to skip the nighttime medication and go to the spare bedroom. I take off my black clothes and put on the long shirt and pants that were provided to me for pajamas.

I remove my ponytail and shake it out of its knot before sliding under the covers. Hopefully I should sleep. I hope, I hope.

 

* * *

 

Thirty minutes later, I wake up to a door being kicked open. I jump, thinking at first that someone broke into the apartment, but I realize that it is too close to the bedroom I’m in.

I don’t hear anything but furniture being tipped over and the sound of scuffling feet, like a struggle is taking place. Up above me, I hear the footfalls of heavy boots. I don’t even have half the mind to look out the window. I don’t need to see this round up taking place.

I just bury my head under the blanket and curl myself into a fetal position.

 

* * *

 

I open my eyes, terrified, my hands clutching the sheets. But I’m not in the streets of Abnegation where mayhem reigned yesterday. I’m in a bed in Caleb’s apartment at the Erudite sector.

I shift and my stomach writhes when I see the gun in its holster; connected to my jacket. They can’t expect me to wield that thing. They just can’t. This is Erudite I’m at currently, so most likely they will give me some alternative to a gun.

I’m confident that they will acknowledge phobias.

I’m in the process of getting dressed when the door opens but I see that it is just Eric.

“Did we keep you awake last night?” Eric asks me, shutting the door behind him.

There is no use lying to him. He’s not Candor but even an Erudite would know whether they have been lied to or not.

“You’d think I’d sleep soundly hearing doors being kicked open and people struggling?” I demand. “Stuff of that nature is not quiet at all.”

“It’s not like Jeanine is going to exclude you from the roundup of the next batch at Amity,” Eric says. “Or as she calls the group of Divergents.”

“Amity?” I ask, frowning. “I thought that the Erudite were friendly with the Amity.”

“You’d think that those ties will last considering Jeanine’s obsession to open that Box that’s now sitting in one of the simulation rooms on the twelfth floor?” Eric asks. “It doesn’t matter what faction Divergents are from at this point.”

“Yeah, but it matters who she wants and doesn’t want to round up among the Erudite,” I point out.

“It’s not like I haven’t forgotten that hypocrisy,” he says. “Not that I agree with it.”

We both leave Caleb’s apartment, but before leaving I quietly took my gun from my holster and left it on the dresser. This is Erudite I’m at, so I should be able to find alternatives to a firearm.

However, when the two of us get on the lift, Eric notices that I’m unarmed.

“Where’s your gun, Tris?” he asks, his eyes to my empty gun holster.

I swallow hard. “I can’t…I’m not able to carry a gun,” I say truthfully. “Not after yesterday.”

I see the realization in his eyes as it dawns on him. His eyes instantly harden and he clenches his fists.

“Dammit, Tris!” he shouts. “Are you serious? Out of all the times you have become afraid to hold a gun, it’s now!?”

“Eric –” I start, but he cuts me off.

“What am I going to do? Put a freaking backpack leash on you to make sure that you don’t get killed?” he demands. “No, because that would limit your abilities and render you useless. I can’t have that.”

I don’t say anything to him for the rest of the lift ride and when we exit the building. Though I hear him mutter “Freaking Four” under his breath the whole time. Of course Eric would blame Tobias for my current inability to hold a gun.

Coming to think of it, Will would still be alive if Tobias didn’t decide to grab me and cause me to misfire when I had the intention to misfire. However, I shouldn’t pass blame to him, as it is selfish.

Since it’s the morning, it wouldn’t be unusual for the streets to not be packed. However, it is unusual to see Dauntless wearing black clothes with blue accents and blue garments accompanying the black clothing they are wearing. Jeanine has definitely planned this out ahead of time.

“… A rogue group of Divergents posing as Dauntless brutally invaded Abnegation. In an obvious attempt to cripple the faction system by attacking its most vulnerable members,” I hear Jeanine say, and I look up to see a moving, holographic image of her against Erudite headquarters.

“What is she saying?” I ask.

Eric snorts. “That Divergents posing as Dauntless attacked Abnegation.” He leans over to my ear and whispers, “Erudite Propaganda.”

Divergents posing as Dauntless. Knowing Jeanine, that’s who she would pin the blame on, to further the lie that Divergents are dangerous. That we’re a threat to the city when we are not

In the lobby, the most noticeable difference is that I see Dauntless soldiers milling around the room, and guarding the door leading from the lobby into the corridor.

“Go to the lab on the twelfth floor,” Eric says to me. “Lab B-6. Jeanine has you scheduled there.”

The lab where the Box is. Like my day can’t get any worse. “Sure.”

“I’m going to the engineering department,” Eric says, “to see if they have any identical alternatives to a real firearm.”

It’s like a golf ball is lodged in my throat. “Identical?”

He narrows his eyes and slightly tilts his head to the side. “You think I’d want you to walk around defenseless? It’s dangerous in times like these to not have a weapon.”

He walks away towards the elevator in the other side of the room, leaving me in the lobby. I heave a sigh and walk into the corridor, where I happen to pass by Peter.

Instead of averting his face away from me or hurrying away, he examines my empty gun holster and smirks. “Does your fall from grace have something to do with you not having a gun?”

Ice cold rage fills me at that pronouncement and I feel the blood drain from my face. How does he know? He was under simulation when I murdered Will and that child before passing out.

I inhale and exhale heavily, and say, in a manner to let him know that I’m his boss, “Be glad that we’re in Erudite, because I wouldn’t hesitate to wring your neck with my bare hands before dumping you into the chasm.”

I don’t stop to see his reaction as I walk off. So, after months of being mortified by me, he decides to behave as he did when we were initiates and before I threatened him with a butter knife. Perhaps he sees my passing out as a result of my moral lapse as a comforting gesture that I’m not as tough as he is.

How wrong he will be.


	23. Chapter Twenty Three

            On the twelfth floor, I see Dauntless guards guard the top secret labs. It doesn’t take me long to find the lab where Jeanine wants me to be.

            I go to the facial recognition scanner and bend down, facing it. It scans my face and I hear the “Access granted,” before the doors slide open. Entering the dark room, I see that an Abnegation girl – about my age – is standing in what looks like glass cage; the floor erected a few feet. She’s looking around frantically, like she’s trying to escape.

            If only I could be of assistance.

            “Beatrice, you arrived just in time,” says Jeanine. “We’re about to start.”

            The room is lined with Dauntless guards and with Jeanine are a few Erudite scientists. In the cage, I notice the trapezoid shaped box with the symbols of the five factions on it.

            The Box, which contains the message that Jeanine is so desperate to see. Knowing her, after she hears whatever the message contains, she will hide the Box. Not wanting the public to know.

            I hide my hesitation as I stand next to Jeanine. “What will we be seeing?”

            “The subject will be experiencing simulations relating to the five factions,” Jeanine says. “While we can’t see what they will be experiencing, their heart rate will give us an idea.”

            Since Jeanine has said herself that most will not survive the attempt to open the Box, I wonder how many will die from heart attacks?

            Around us, images come up from projection screens; one showing an image of the brain and the other, two empty graphs that will display the heart rate and brainwaves.

            “Let’s begin,” says Jeanine before turning to her tablet. Looking over, I see her put her finger on the start key before pressing the Abnegation symbol. “We’ll begin with the faction the subject has chosen first and this this girl’s case, we’ll start with the Abnegation simulation.”

            Tentacle-like cords begin to descend from the ceiling and the girl looks around like she’s trying to find an escape. I watch in horror as one of the giant wires sticks itself in her back and it’s not long before the wires attach themselves to various parts of her body.

            My stomach writhes as the cords lift her up from the ground of the observation cage. If I had my way, I would strangle Jeanine with my bare hands, but that scenario falls apart as I can’t bring myself to hold a gun.

            I’d be killed in minutes if I committed such a rash action.

            I pay attention to the screen in front of me. Watching the heart rate and the brain waves. There is activity in the brain but suggesting by her steady heart rate, fortunately what she is seeing is not too hard for her heart to bear.

            I see the Abnegation symbol on the Box light up in blue. That’s one down and unfortunately there is four left.

            “Now, it’s time for the Dauntless simulation,” Jeanine says, touching the Dauntless symbol on her tablet. Dauntless? Wouldn’t that be too much for someone who most likely didn’t spend a day in the faction?

            The girl tenses up and it’s not long before she hyperventilates. Her fists clench and when she screams, I wish I can evaporate on the spot.

            My inability to help makes me go numb all over.

           

* * *

 

            When I leave the laboratory after a hour, my head clears but it’s like my legs feel like gelatin. I’m terrible for not stepping in and helping. That’s what I should be doing: helping people from being prodded and subjected to this torture just because Jeanine wants to know the contents of whatever is in that box.

            It is not right to do nothing at all.

            When I walk towards the engineering department, I pass by a screen with pictures and names. I turn to look, noticing the header **_Wanted Insurgents_**. Examining the faces, I see Irene’s face on there as well as the faces of Tobias, my parents and Marcus, though Tobias, mother and Irene are considered high risk and dangerous.

            “If you forgot to ask, not all of Dauntless is in Erudite,” I hear Eric say. “The other half are at the Merciless Mart in Candor.”

            Well, I doubt every Dauntless would want to be here anyway due to what Jeanine was doing.

            “Do they know what happened?” I ask.

            “They know what Jeanine is feeding to the city,” Eric answers. “That so-called rogue Divergents invaded Abnegation.”  

            “What happened to Tobias after the simulation?” I ask. Last time I remember before blacking out yesterday, he was wrestled off of me when I was trying to look as if I misfired.

            “He escaped when Jeanine ended the simulation,” Eric explains. “She injected him with another version of the simulation. I heard it worked or so she thought.” Eric scoffs. “Good thing he is not here or I’ll give that piece of shit hell for being the reason why you are afraid to hold a gun. Speaking of which, follow me. I found something.”

            I follow him though the white maze to the engineering department. Inside the engineering department, I look into the glass walls to see clusters of Erudite sorting objects or standing around a giant board, designing new objects.

            We walk into a room marked **_Innovation Room 4-J_**. In here, I see engineers sort objects that I can’t fathom what they are for: silver disks, pins with strings attached at the bottom, and other things I can’t find a name for.

            He leads me towards a table containing handguns; only they don’t look like the ones we trained with during initiation. While black, they look plastic and have blue dimming lights at the handle.

Eric picks one up and hands it to me. I test the weight in my hands. It’s light when I hold it and running my finger over the material, it’s a hard plastic.

“It’s supposed to be lightweight,” Eric says. “They usually make these guns if someone in Erudite wants to learn about how to shoot a gun. However, they can be given to those who are afraid to hold actual firearms; to help them overcome it even.”

I remove the barrel and see that it has to be loaded.

“And the ammunition?” I ask.

Eric goes over to the shelf and returns with a box. I see that it’s those Neuro-Sim bullets that we used for Capture the Flag this year. “Fortunately they come in varying minutes. The one that you have in your hands will contain Neuro Sim bullets that last for thirty minutes. That way it would subdue them for some time. You wouldn’t actually kill them.”

It’s comforting. This idea of an identical alternative doesn’t sound terrible as I thought it would be.

“Is there more?” I ask.

“You’re going to have to wear a bulletproof vest under your clothing for the time being,” he says. “Even with that artificial gun, you’re still vulnerable to gunfire.”

 

* * *

 

Reluctantly, I decide to check out the situation on the twelfth floor before lunch. I suppose that things haven’t improved since then. When I do reach the twelfth floor, I see Dauntless guards carry something.

When I get closer to them, I realize with horror that it’s the Abnegation girl that Jeanine had hooked up to the simulation program that connected to the Box. And unfortunately it’s obvious that she didn’t survive past all five simulations.

That’s one casualty. I just hope that they do not escalate quickly. Unfortunately, they might as well if Jeanine guaranteed that most will not survive the simulations.

 

* * *

 

“We’re going to your mother’s for lunch?” I ask Eric as we walk down the sidewalk towards what looks like an individual housing complex.

“She offered,” Eric says to me in response. “Though I doubt that my father would be happy with it.”

“Well, that’s better than being in the cafeteria the same time as Peter,” I mutter under my breath.

At that, Eric turns his face towards mine. “What? I thought you made a statement to him a few months ago with that butter knife.”

“He thinks yesterday’s moral lapse was my fall from grace, which it was,” I say. I scoff bitterly. “I don’t know how he found out, but I’m glad we’re not at Dauntless or I wouldn’t hesitate to wring his neck and –”

“Tris, Erudite is not the place to broadcast homicidal fantasies,” Eric interrupts.

“Oh, because it’s considered irrational and being irrational is considered illogical?” I ask, raising my eyebrow.

Eric nods thoughtfully. “Something like that.”

We approach a two story house with stone siding, where one of those cars owned by the Erudite in the drive. As we walk the concrete path to the front steps, I think of Eric, who without a doubt, walked up those steps and went through the polished, wood door before leaving here for Dauntless three years ago. Looking over at him, it’s still hard to imagine him appearing immaculately dressed in blue at a young age.

            I ascend the steps before him and we stand on the porch, facing the door. I step aside so Eric can knock. He knocks on the door three times.

            Seconds later, someone approaches the door, before I hear the bolts unlock and the door opens. Standing at the doorway is a woman who appears to be in her late thirties. Her blonde-hair is kept in a twist at the nape of her neck and she is wearing immaculate, blue clothing; like most of the Erudite.

            “Has anything progressed since this morning?” she asks.

            “Unless you count someone dying from exhaustion, well, I say not much,” Eric says as we step inside the house.

            “As I said last night, the other factions are not safe from that woman,” she says. She turns her face towards me. “So, this is the girl you have told me about.”

            “Yeah,” Eric says before he continued, “Mother, this is my fiancée, Beatrice Prior.” He Turns to me. “Tris, this is my mother, Clarisse Matheson.”

            It feels awkward, as I have never seen her since I was a student at Lower Levels. However, she’s going to be my mother-in-law, so it shouldn’t be awkward too much.

            I offer my hand. “Pleasure to see you again, Mrs. Matheson. Though I’m not a student anymore.”

            “Since you are not my Literacy student anymore, feel free to address me as Clarisse,” she says, shaking my hand. “Well, I have lunch waiting for you in the dining room.”

            She walks towards the arch at the end of the hallway and Eric follows her. “I see that they put school on hold.”

            I stay behind and look at the small table nestled against the wall underneath the stair banister. There are pictures of a blond boy in varying ages. Most likely Eric. It feels awkward seeing him as an eleven year old in a picture when he sticks out in my mind as tall, muscular, and tattooed.

            I follow Eric into the room he entered with his mother and step inside a decent sized dining room.

            “Will Mr. Cedric Matheson, by any chance, stop by and join us?” I ask.

            “The three leaders usually have their lunches together in Erudite headquarters,” answers Clarisse.

            “Which is a good thing as he will not be happy to see me,” Eric says. “He takes ‘faction before blood’ very seriously.”

            My father didn’t completely disown me like that compared to Caleb, though that’s unpleasant. Very unpleasant.

            I sit down next to Eric and look at my plate. On my plate are salmon, brown rice, and an avocado. The usual Erudite meal as they usually eat meals with food that benefit their brain health.

            “Anything else Jeanine wants you to do aside from bringing in Divergents to her?” Clarisse asks, looking as if she swallowed something sour.

            “She wants us to maintain order since she declared martial law on the city except for Amity,” Eric answers. “Speaking of Amity, she wants the next Divergent purge to take place there next.”

            “At this point, Jeanine wouldn’t care about whom she has friendly ties to,” I say. “She wants to retrieve every single Divergent just so she can open that Box.”

            Clarisse shakes her head, curling her lip in disgust. “The only reason she can round up so many Divergents is if most of them die in the attempt.” She turns to her son. “When do you think you might withdraw from Jeanine and cease being her pawn?”

            “I have to find the right circumstances, mother,” Eric says. “You know it’s not easy to just walk out. Best to wait until I’m out of Erudite premises and when it’s apparent to Jeanine that I’m held against my will.”

            I shudder, as I digest that what he said. I could see that he has a point. The only way we’d be able to defect is if we got captured during one of those missions Jeanine will assign to us later. If we get spared, we’ll just be lucky.

            “You think the Dauntless over in Candor might spare you?” Eric’s mother asks, concern in her eyes. “It’s no secret in all the factions about the reputation you have in Dauntless.”

            “I should be lucky, considering Jocelyn and Sean are with the Dauntless at Candor,” Eric says. He side glances at me before continuing. “Not everyone in Dauntless hates my guts, mother.”

            “War can make people see things differently,” Clarisse points out. “Those who don’t believe in the propaganda that Jeanine is circulating may see you as a traitor.”

            I look down at my plate, stirring the brown rice with my fork. I have yet to know whether my surviving friends have joined Dauntless or are in Candor. If they are all in Candor, those that do not believe the propaganda by Erudite will see me as a traitor.

            Hopefully they don’t, but if they do, I will not be surprised. Being a Dauntless leader, some might categorize me along with Eric as “Jeanine’s lapdog.”

           


	24. Chapter Twenty Four

                After lunch in Eric’s childhood home, I decide to check to see if there is anyone from Dauntless I know, aside from Peter. There is a database of those that sided with the Erudite, so I would rather look into the database then waste my time walking around this building.

            One of Erudite’s control rooms is not far up and fortunately it’s not on the level where Jeanine is keeping the Box. Control-A is located right where the scientific archival offices are located.

            This control room is different than the one in the Pire. There are not just screens along the walls but there is a holographic screen in the center of the room. Erudite members sit behind sleek computers as they view the feed. Judging that I am only seeing feed from the Erudite sector, this control room focuses on surveillance within this faction only.

            I approach the holographic screen and on the projector, I push the first option, which says “Erudite population database” and from there, I select the last option, which is “Dauntless personnel.”

            The pictures of Eric, Max, Veronica, Ross, and I are on the top row. Most likely because we are Dauntless leaders. I scroll by the pictures, skipping over various faces of people that I don’t know but stopping when I see a familiar face.

            I don’t see any of the former ten initiates, meaning that they are at Candor.

Of those who I befriended in Dauntless, only Tori and Zeke are in the Erudite’s database of Dauntless that have sided with the faction. I don’t see Shauna, Marlene, Lynn, Hector, and Christina on here, meaning that they are probably in Candor with the other half of Dauntless.

            Christina.

            It’s like a ball is lodged in my throat. Has Christina found Will’s body when the simulation ended? If she sees me again, her Candor-trained eyes will see that I am the one who killed him. I know it and the guilt strangles me and crushes me.

            I feel a tear trickle down my cheek and I wipe it away from my face with the palm of my hand. Maybe it’s best that I am not around her. If Christina is among those that does not believe Jeanine’s anti-Divergent propaganda, she’ll see me as a traitor.

 

* * *

 

            I head back to Caleb’s apartment a few minutes before dinner starts. Sitting at the sofa, I look around his apartment. Apart from the certificate on his wall, there are no other decorations and in his bookcase, there are only ten books. He was here for just a year, so that would explain it.

            However, judging by the tidiness of his apartment, it’s apparent that he retained some of his Abnegation habits. As they say, old habits die hard. For the Abnegation, it’s like certain habits are engrained in us.

            I hear someone unlock the apartment door and I look up to see Caleb and a dark-haired Erudite girl with olive tone skin.

            “Rogue Divergents disguised as Dauntless, my eye,” she comments, rolling her eyes. “Any intelligent person can see that it’s nothing but Erudite propaganda Jeanine is putting out.”

            “I agree with your sentiment, Kendall,” Caleb says. “There are inconsistencies. Why would the faction split up if what she said was true?”

            That must be the girl who Caleb mentioned. The one who transferred from Dauntless to Erudite last year.

            “Exactly,” she says. “Even Cara considers it meaningless tripe.”

            I stand up and say, “Yes, and Jeanine does not have me fooled.”

            “Kendall, this is my sister Beatrice,” Caleb introduces. “Beatrice is one of the Dauntless leaders.”

            “As if the neck tattoo didn’t give it away.” She smiles and shakes my hand. “Caleb has told me all about you.”

            “Good things I’m sure,” I say. “Anyway, we lived under the same roof for fifteen years, so what’s not to say?”

            At that moment, the door knocks and Caleb goes to answer it. When he opens the door, I see that it’s Eric, carrying two backpacks.

            “Funny. I don’t remember asking you to come over,” Caleb says coolly.

            “It’s not like my father would want me to stay another night,” Eric says, pushing past Caleb. “Second, I have to make sure that someone here has clean underwear and clothes.”

            “How do you know what a girl needs?” Kendall asks him.

            “If you live with the opposite sex, one would know,” Eric says before addressing me. “I went back to the apartment at the Pire. I made sure I got everything.”

            “And you didn’t encounter any factionless?” Kendall asks him.

            “The compound is pretty much deserted, since half of Dauntless is here and the other is in Candor,” Eric states.

            “One would have thought that the factionless would have taken advantage of the city conflict and hide in the Dauntless compound,” says Caleb.

            “Considering that the city outside Amity is in martial law and that the Dauntless in Candor might return to the Dauntless compound, the chances of that happening are slim to none,” Eric says matter-of-factly. “If they were in a situation where they were desperate for food, they could raid Abnegation headquarters.”

            “Wouldn’t have Jeanine destroyed the building?” Caleb asks.

            “She kept it up as an example,” Eric says. “Now, I assume we don’t want to go to bed with empty stomachs.”

            As Caleb made dinner, I go through the clothing in my backpack to see what Eric thought to bring with him. I see almost everything except for the dress and the skirt. Makes sense as this is a war we are in. They would be of no use at this time.

            I zip up the backpack and go back to the living/kitchen area of the apartment. Caleb has his back turned, focusing on the food he’s making while Eric analyzes the contents of his bookcase. Kendall is reading a book on scientific theory as she sits on the couch, but gives Eric a wary glance every now and then.

            “Adult psychology, genetics, geology, chemistry,” Eric muses as he reads the binding of the books. “You practically seemed to be enamored by science.”

            “One would be if you didn’t receive the answers to the questions that plague you,” Caleb says to Eric. “I was mystified by science until I began smuggling textbooks into my room.”

            “That would be burdening,” Eric says. “However, I should avoid the topic of Abnegation considering that most of the faction has been eliminated.”

            However, just hearing that makes me want to suffocate. Just thinking about that brings back images from yesterday. Images I don’t want to see in my head again.

            Caleb doesn’t say anything to Eric in response.

            When dinner is done cooking, the four of us grab a plate and serve ourselves a share of steak, mashed potatoes, and corn before sitting around the kitchen table; with md sitting next to Eric and across from Caleb.

“So they replaced old Jackie after I left?” Kendall asks as I cut up my meat.

            “Yeah,” answers Eric. “Her time was coming anyway.” Eric looks at me and continues, “Fortunately we got someone with a good work ethic and who doesn’t let the position go to her head.”

            “Even with the stigma that the Dauntless attach to the Abnegation?” Kendall asks.

            “I surprised some by ranking first in initiation,” I say. “The Abnegation are not always docile.”

            “I always thought that they were stereotyped anyway,” says Kendall. “Some Erudite are idiotic to believe that the Abnegation do not have the intellectual capacity to pass initiation.”

            “Did you have any trouble with your fellow initiates, Caleb?” I ask.

            “Not really, though someone remarked how I seemed too educated for someone from Abnegation,” Caleb says. “Like they thought I was intellectually stunted at some point.”

            “Probably the same Erudite that believed Jeanine’s propaganda about the Abnegation prior to the attack,” I say. “That wouldn’t surprise me.”

            “It’s not propaganda if half of it is true,” Caleb says.

            Crap. I should have been more precise. I should have been specific; because he thinks that I believe in none of it.

            I drop my fork. “Of course I know that not all of it was just propaganda, Caleb,” I say with agitation in my tone. “Could you ask me to be more specific instead of just assuming that I didn’t believe everything that Jeanine has printed out about the Abnegation for a year? I know that the report about Marcus Eaton is true and that the city council needed diversity among the staff. I don’t believe that Abnegation was completely free of fault.” My eyes tear up at my own usage of past tense. “Yes, past tense because a majority of that faction is practically wiped out.”

            With that, I stand up from my seat and walk away from my half-eaten meal; away from the room. I go in the spare room where I am now sleeping and sit on the bed, allowing the tears to fall. I shouldn’t act like this, though concerning Jeanine’s recent propaganda about the attack on Abnegation and pinning the blame on Divergents, one who believes in that story wouldn’t think to report me to Jeanine.

            “Tris, are you okay?” I hear Eric ask as he enters the spare bedroom.

            I look up to see him standing at the doorway, looking concerned. “Is it obvious that I’m not okay? It feels as if my brain might explode.”

            He sits down on the bed next to me and strokes my hair with his fingers. How I relish that. The feeling of his fingers from my hair. At this time of devastating stress, I need things like this to relax me.

            He then leans in my ear and whispers, “We’ll get out of here, Tris. Probably not when Jeanine sends us to raid Amity, but soon. Okay?”

            I nod and he presses a kiss to my forehead.

 

* * *

 

            That night, I dream that I am in the field next to the fence, just like my fear landscape, and I turn to see a flock of crows pecking what appear to be carcasses. When I swat a few of them away, I realize that the carcass they are perched on human corpses.

            At first, I thought they were an Abnegation member as they were wearing Abnegation grey. But when they took off without warning, I realize that the person is Will and that Abnegation girl. Positioned the same way when I killed them.

            Then I wake up, gasping for breath.

            I feel the tears start to come and I erupt in uncontrollable sobbing. One that throws my body against the mattress.

            “Tris, I’m here,” I hear him say to me. “You’re not back there anymore. You’re here.”

            Hearing Eric snaps my mind back to reality but that doesn’t numb the monster of grief, writhing in the space where my heart and stomach used to be.

            I hear the door open and I look up to see Caleb standing at the door, wearing light blue pajamas.

            “Beatrice, are you okay?” he asks, coming towards me.

            “Don’t worry,” Eric says to him. “I will have this taken care of.”

            “I am her brother, so I am just as qualified to look out after her wellbeing,” Caleb says sharply.

            “You realize who you are talking to, right?” Eric demands.

            “Just stop it,” I say, still sobbing heavily. “Stop acting as if only one of you could help me.”

            They stop the argument that they just started and look at me. After a moment’s pause, Caleb asks, “Is there anything you want me to do?”

            “A glass of water, please?” I ask.

            Caleb nods and leaves the room. I turn to Eric. “I am not going to discuss this again. Intimidate whoever you want but my friends and members of my family are off limits.”

            He sighs before saying, “I know and I apologize for not honoring that. You think I would but I didn’t. I’m just stubborn.”

            “Well, we’re both stubborn,” I point out. “Probably a Divergent thing.”

            “Yes, except that I don’t have aptitude for three factions, Tris,” Eric says. “I’m not that stubborn.”

            “On a scale from one to ten, how stubborn do you think I am?” I ask him.

            “Eight and a half,” he answers.

            I raise my eyebrow at him and at this moment, Caleb comes in with the glass of water. Hopefully, Eric finally keeps his word that he will not keep antagonizing my brother. Or else I would have to think of something.


	25. Chapter Twenty Five

            “We will have to enter Amity through here,” Max says, pointing a map as we sit around a table in the meeting room. “Since we have Dauntless guards posted at the fence, entry shouldn’t be a problem.”

            Eric, who has been steepling his fingers for a few minutes, shakes his head. “What about cooperation from Johanna Reyes? I doubt that she want us to come into Amity to take members of her faction,” he points out.

            “She wouldn’t be difficult to reason with,” Max says. “She wouldn’t be a problem unlike Jack Kang of Candor.”

            “So, with the Candor raid, we will arrive by force, I guess,” Veronica says. “However, taking the Amity from their faction is still, by definition, forceful.”

            “Not as forceful as how we will enter Candor,” Max says.

            As Max continues talking, I look at my nails and pick at the cuticles. Any distraction is welcome as I don’t want to be reminded in what I will partake in for the next few days. I am not the type to think about these kind of things all the time, as they are disturbing.

            There better not be any Divergents in Amity as it would only increase the casualty rate caused by that Box. However, if Jeanine runs out of Divergents to hook up to that Box, she will use me and Eric to achieve that. By using me first.

            Hopefully there is someone with a high percentage of Divergence that this nightmarish reality would not happen. Unfortunately, it would be considered impossible to have aptitude for four factions or all five.

 

* * *

 

            After the meeting, I go to the twelfth floor to check up on the situation. I really don’t want to but it’s not like I can avoid it. One shouldn’t bury their heads in the sand. Trying to avoid it is willful ignorance.

            Peter leaves the laboratory and when he approaches me without averting his gaze, I fight the urge to look for a blunt object.

            “Well, looks like the fifteenth subject bit the dust,” he says nonchalantly as it wasn’t something to worry about. “So far, they are dropping like flies.”

            “I wasn’t wrong when I said you have sociopathic tendencies,” I remind him. “Your inability to understand the situation and your ability to emphasize explains it.”

            “Well, I don’t cheat my way up like you did during initiation,” Peter says.

            “I didn’t stab a fellow initiate in the eye and try to murder someone because I didn’t rank first,” I point out. “I have standards.”

            I walk away and I hear him mutter, “Says the girl who killed her friend and a kid from her former faction.”

            Rage fills me and I find myself punching him in the nose before grabbing his jacket and I push him to the wall, face first. I hear something crack and when he turns around, I see that I broke his nose and that blood is dripping down his chin.

            I’m filled with satisfaction of the outcome.

            I approach him and grab the collar of his jacket. “How did you find out what I did?” I whisper. “How?”

            “I overheard Ross talking to another Dauntless how you passed out Four made you misfire,” Peter says. “Seems like he can’t keep his mouth shut.”

            Seeing that it’s enough to hear, I release him and throw his head back. I turn away from him before entering the laboratory where Jeanine is.

            I don’t pay attention as they unhook a Abnegation man from the cords as I approach the holographic computers. Analyzing Jeanine’s expression, it is obvious that she appears taxed.

            “Seems like the members of your former faction don’t have strong enough Divergence to get through all five simulations,” Jeanine tells me. “We’re down to five from that faction.”

            The way she speaks of these people disgusts me. It’s as if they are not human beings with feelings but lab rats that don’t have the right genetics to produce a desirable result. She does have no regard for Divergents, so that does not surprise me.

            She looks at my hand and asks, “Did you come across something disagreeable?”

            I look down at my hand and see that there is blood stains. When I punched Peter, the impact must have resulted in blood to splatter on my hand.

            “Someone just got in the middle of the way,” I say, shrugging. “He was wasting my time.”

            “I don’t understand why the Dauntless handle their problems with violence,” Jeanine says. “It is highly illogical.”

            “I have the ability to assert my authority,” I tell her formally. “I am one of the Dauntless leaders.”

            “You will assert authority in a way that it does not violate the behavior protocol here,” Jeanine says as I hear the door slide open. “Violence will not be tolerated on Erudite soil, Beatrice. For it is illogical to solve your problems by force.”

            The Amity abhor violence because they think it violates the peace whereas Erudite views any rash violent act and associate it with people who have low intellect. I have to be careful otherwise Jeanine might change her mind and use me to open the Box sooner than planned.

            If it results in that, I should control my temper, as it would be selfish to Eric if I act rashly. And I don’t want him to suffer.

 

* * *

 

            I was relieved when break came, as I didn’t want to remain there to witness what is going on in the laboratory. I didn’t need to see that.

            I wash my hands and go in the break room in Erudite headquarters, where I pour myself a cup of coffee and a small chocolate chip cookie from their communal cookie jar. As I sip my coffee, I see a wooden shelf on the wall filled with pamphlets.

            I pop the miniature cookie in my mouth and approach the shelf. Most of the pamphlets concern tips for mental health and physical wellbeing though one stands out. It’s called _How to deal with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)_

PTSD. Eric mentioned it when he was talking about the report about Marcus Eaton but he didn’t go into detail about it. I go a nearby table with the pamphlet and coffee in hand and sit down at an empty chair.

            I open the pamphlet and begin reading its contents…

            _Symptoms of PTSD_

**_Mood:_ ** _anger, general discontent, guilt, hopelessness, inability to feel pleasure, loneliness, loss of interest, nervousness, or emotional distress._

I feel guilty. I feel hopeless.

            **_Behavioral:_** _aggression, agitation, hostility, hypervigilance, irritability, screaming, self-destructive behavior, self-harm, or social isolation._

Just being reminded of what I did agitates me.

            **_Psychological:_** _depression, fear, flashback, hallucination, panic attack, severe anxiety, or mistrust._

            I can’t be able to hold a real gun.

            **_Sleep:_** _insomnia, night terror, nightmares, or sleep deprivation._

I have experienced nightmares, yes.

            **_Cognitive:_** _thoughts of suicide or unwanted thoughts._

Hopefully it doesn’t come to that.

            **_Whole body:_** _acute stress or blackout._

Not that I know of. No

            **_Also common:_** _emotional detachment, headache, or lack of emotional response._

Not so far, no.

            Looking over at the page where treatment is listed. For lifestyle, I see that it includes stress management, relaxation techniques, and psychoeducation. There are therapies, including nightmare therapy, crises intervention, and cognitive therapy. However, in these circumstances, it would be difficult to access them.

            It will be hard for any of this if we are at war.

            I scrunch up the pamphlet in my pocket before finishing up the coffee. I throw away the Styrofoam cup before heading out of the break room. Out the door, I come face to face with Eric.

            “Geez, Eric!” I exclaim. “Good thing I was the only one here or else you could have given someone a heart attack.”

            “It is a talent I acquired,” he says. “Anyway, you are just the person I was looking for.”

            “Oh.” I cross my arms. “Does either Jeanine or Max want something?”

            “Well, not technically, though it’s not difficult to access the control rooms in this building,” Eric replies.. “You should be glad I was the only one that saw you lash out at Peter.”

            I remember Jeanine scolding me about containing my temper and I suspect that Eric will give me a similar lecture. However, unlike with Jeanine, I could explain it better to him.

            “Peter antagonized me first,” I explain. “He insinuated that I was a hypocrite. That I’m no better than him. I didn’t purposely do those things like he did.”

            “That is true, however, this is not Dauntless,” he says. “You have to be careful when managing your temper.”

            “Tell me _how_ instead of just telling me to manage my temper,” I tell him. “You even claim you know about PTSD and you turn around and react like a total asshole. You were Erudite. You are supposed to be understanding.”

            With that, I walk away. Not caring to look back. I love him but he needed to hear that.

 

* * *

 

            “I thought I would be out of this cesspool of logic when I chose Dauntless,” Tori tells me as we inspect the objects in one of the innovations room. “Now look where I’m at.”

            “At least you are familiar with it,” I say, inspecting one of the silver discs that are lying on the table. “Me? I only know Dauntless and Abnegation.”

            “Yes, and though I use some knowledge that I retained, I didn’t flaunt my heritage like your boyfriend does,” Tori says, saying the last nine words with resentment in her voice.

            “Eric doesn’t flaunt it,” I say. He doesn’t want the people he hates to use his heritage to classify him as “the typical cold and emotionless Erudite.”

            “He acts as if he’s smarter than the rest of the Dauntless,” Tori says. “As if he is the only one who still retained his brain. I still don’t understand what you see in him.”

            Eric is arrogant like that. That he’s the smartest of the faction and he goes on about how most Dauntless don’t have a large attention span. That they are idiots. I can’t deny that aspect of his arrogance.

            “He is arrogant, yes, but he is so much more than that,” I say. “He is…complicated. He actually tore down his walls for me.”

            “If you say so,” Tori says, appearing skeptical. “However, that doesn’t change my opinion about him.”   

            I sigh. I can’t force my friends to like him. It’s their choice to warm up to him or not. If they don’t like him, it’s their choice.

           

* * *

 

            “Brain food. Brain food. Brain food,” Zeke mutters to himself as we move along the lunch line in the Erudite cafeteria. “I don’t know why these Noses like this kind of food. It’s rather unappetizing.”

            “They eat it because it helps their brain health,” I say, putting some salmon on my tray. “Besides, I don’t find brain food disgusting.”

            “I have seen that living with a former Erudite has affected your taste buds,” Zeke grumbles.

            “One thing about Abnegation is that one learns not to be picky,” I reply, picking up a bottle of pomegranate grape juice.

            Zeke chuckles. “Four told me about the food. I don’t know if I could survive with eating food that tastes like cardboard and dust.”

            I snort. Anyone not raised in Abnegation wouldn’t bear to live to live under the restrictions they…just thinking about Abnegation feels as if a golf ball is lodged in my throat.

            I blink away the tears in my eyes, as I manage to say, “The food didn’t taste like cardboard. Unseasoned yes, but not like cardboard.”

            I go over to an empty table and set my tray in front of me before I sit down.

            “Well, it would taste like cardboard to me,” Zeke says as he sits down in front of his tray of food.

            “It would be if someone wasn’t born Abnegation,” I say, preparing to cut up my salmon.

            “As she said, that is why no one would be picky,” Eric says, dropping into a seat next to me. So, he is willing to talk to me after I had called him out. He’s not the type to avoid me anyway.

            “In my book, you both had it bad,” Zeke says in reply. “One of you was stuck eating this disgusting brain food and the other had to eat plain and boring food.”

            “It is called brain food because it boosts your brain health and a healthy brain is good for your decision making,” Eric reminds him.

            “Blueberries are considered brain food and they don’t taste foul,” I point out. “They actually help with your digestive system as well.”

            “No need to speak about that type of stuff during lunch,” says Zeke.

            “Says the guy who made sex jokes during lunch,” Eric says to him.

            No one speaks during lunch. After I cleaned off my tray and put it in the tray return. When I leave the lunchroom, Eric stops me.

            “Tris,” he says and I turn to him. I cross my arms, wondering what he has to say.

            “You were right,” he says. “It was not in my place to react the way I did when I know better. Avoiding reminders of the traumatic event is a symptom of PTSD. For you, it would be the sight of an authentic firearm.”

            “And nightmares,” I say, crossing my arms. I could still see the image of the crows atop the corpses of Will and that girl I killed. I shudder, trying to erase the image from my head.

            He puts his hand on my shoulder and says, “We all have our demons. Now, let me find you something to channel your anger in.”


	26. Twenty Six

            One week passed and during that, the days blurred one onto another. Or maybe it’s because of the hopelessness of the situation.

            Of all the people Jeanine captured to open the box, there were five people left by the weeks end. Either the majority died in the second simulation or they died in the last one. The usual cause of death: aneurysm in the brain. Most of the time I will be in there, I would make sure that I didn’t give away the notion that this made me sick to my stomach.

            Jeanine, unsurprisingly, didn’t act as if those lives were important. When a Divergent died due to a brain aneurysm, she’d act as if they were something as disposable as lab rats before moving on to the next Divergent. They were disposable to her anyway.

            Eric and I are disposable to her if we prove to be of no use to her anymore.

            When not on duty, I would channel my frustration and anger through sketching on a drawing pad that Eric supplied me just to channel my emotions. Erudite actually has sketching tutorials, and even though my drawing skills are not mediocre, I refer to them anyway. After sketching, my mind would feel relaxed and tranquil.

            Though, it couldn’t suffice the guilt of murdering my friend and an innocent child.

 

* * *

 

            “As I said this week, this clean sweep in Amity wouldn’t be difficult. We should be able to inspect them in their eating area without trouble,” Max says to Eric and me before we file into the armored truck. Even if Johanna allows us to round up Divergents, in her heart, I know she wouldn’t like the idea of it.

            Unfortunately, I doubt that the Amity would expect that Erudite would look for Divergents in their compound. Especially considering that Amity and Erudite have been on good terms. Before the genocide in Abnegation.

            No one says anything as Max drives the armored truck. Being wedged between Eric and Max in the front seat, all I can do is look at my hands. That way I wouldn’t see the Abnegation sector from a distance. I heard from Caleb that there is nothing left of Abnegation in terms of structure except for headquarters. The reason being that Jeanine wanted to make an example out of Abnegation.

            I look up when we stop at the fence. Max talks to the guard on duty and the Dauntless soldier lets us in without question. I look at the field as the truck bumps along the road. The Amity working in the field drop what they are doing as they watch us and the convoy of trucks entering the sector.

            Though they may seem sheltered from the realities of the outside , it’s like they heard a glimpse of what is happening outside.

            I see a handful of Amity standing around and watching us our truck stops outside Amity headquarters and I see Johanna leave the building. Max leaves the truck and I get off after Eric. I grip the handle of my Genetic Sensor, knowing that in these circumstances, we appear like raiders who intend to do more harm than good.

            We are, actually, given the unfortunate circumstances.

            As we approach Johanna once she’s left the building, she says, “Gentleman, Tris, Amity welcomes you. To what do we owe the pleasure?”

            Though she appears and sounds relaxed, one who is observant would sense the tension in her voice. One doesn’t have to be Erudite to know why we are here.

            “This isn’t really a social call, Johanna,” Max says.

            “We’re looking for Divergents,” I say, feeling the tightness in my throat. _I’m one of them_ , I think.

            “I see,” Johanna replies. “Well, of course, anything we could do to help.”

            One has to squint to hear the uneasiness in her tone.

            “We’re going to need you to volunteer your faction to be tested,” Eric says, before holding up his Genetic Sensor to her face. “New screening technology from Erudite.”

            “Amity,” the electronic voice says and Eric lowers the device.

            “Now that Jeanine’s heading up the Council, the approval process just got a little easier,” says Eric.

            “You’re exceeding your jurisdiction,” Johanna says. Now that is a dangerous move.

            “Now, Johanna,” Max says as he approaches her. “What happened to that Amity politeness? The easy way or the hard way? It’s up to you.”

            _The easy way. Please let it be the easy way_ , I mentally plead. I will not participate in a extremely forceful round up in a faction like this.

            Johanna seems to be going over her options before saying, “All right. But under protest.”

            Max nods before ordering to the Dauntless guards that have assembled behind us, “Okay, we’re good to go! Move it out! Round them up!”

            I decide to walk around to the back of the building as the announcement to assemble in the dome circulates through the compound. Since there are people considered insurgents, maybe they are here.

            Once standing in the back of the building, I see some movement behind the windows. There are people hiding in there.

            “Go over to the eating area!” I order the Dauntless guards surrounding the back of the building. “I doubt there is anyone here who would escape.”

            They move away without question. The only perk here is that I’m a Dauntless leader, one of the figures of authority. Once the area was cleared, I begin scaling the building. I keep holding on to the crevices of the wood boards, making sure that I don’t slip and lose my footing in the process.

            When I reach the window, I slowly push it open, putting my torso in the room. in there, I see Tobias and Irene, in Amity clothing, standing in in room. However, seeing Tobias, I see Will and that girl lying on the ground dead. I close my eyes to shake the image away.

            Irene moves, like she wants to attack a threat, but Tobias stops her. “It’s okay. It’s just Tris.”

            “But how can we know we can trust her?” Irene asks as I quietly slip into the room.

            “Then why did she order some of the guards away?” Tobias whispers as I quietly shut the window.

            “What’s up there?” I hear Eric ask. He sensed people were up here as well. Tobias grabs me and says, “Wait, and stop.”

            “Just my office,” I hear Johanna say, trying to sound nonchalant as possible when one could hear the tension in her voice.

            I hear a horse release a nervous sound and I see Eric approach a palomino house in its pen.

            “Go, go, go,” Tobias whispers and he hurries me and Irene towards the window where I came out of. Looking out there, my heart drops. There are people outside. Just when I thought we were going to have a clean getaway.

            “There are two guards with guns,” I say.

            Tobias quietly opens the window and looks at me. “You first.”

            “No, you go,” I whisper. “I stay here to confirm that there is no one up here.”

            “Tris, Eric isn’t stupid and being that you are engaged with him, you would know that,” Tobias says. “Eric knows people are up here and if we’re gone, he’ll think that you helped us. You’ll be seen as a traitor.”

            He’s right about the traitor part. What he doesn’t know is that Eric will only act suspicious to feign loyalty.

            Although I don’t want to separate from Eric right now, I see that Tobias has a point. It’s safer to go with him and Irene then to stay behind. If I stay behind, they’ll get suspicious why I ordered guards to leave the area of Amity headquarters.

            I nod and slide out the window. When I’m climbing down the building and Tobias is coming after me, I see Peter peek around the corner. Shit.

            He runs away and I jump to the ground. The guards don’t react until Tobias reaches the ground following Irene. They lift their rifles but it only takes a minute to knock them out.

            “We have to get out,” I say as they grab their rifles. “Peter has probably already informed Eric.”

            I hate to act as if Eric is a threat, especially if he would never willingly hunt me down. But the real threat would be the guards pursuing us, so we have to run.

            The three of us run from headquarters; all I could feel is the pounding of my blood in my ears, the running of my feet on the grass, and the artificial gun jiggling in my holster. When we get to the eating area of the Amity compound, gunshots ring out and I see the Dauntless soldiers breaking the glass with their bullets.

            Eric had no choice but to bring awareness of our escaping. It’s safer for him then to be seen as a traitor. Tobias wouldn’t understand though.

            We run from the main area of the compound towards the woods, though we hear the armored trucks following us. I look back once to see Eric riding along the side of the middle truck. Against our will, he’s become the predator and I’m the hunted. The heart hammers in my chest and I feel the sweat running down my neck as we enter the woods.

            In the woods, we don’t hear the armored trucks following us anymore but footfalls distant from behind us. Here, it would be easier to find us on foot then to in a truck.

            “Come on,” says Tobias. “Keep going.”

            I am but it’s difficult when you know that the person you love will not cause you harm.

            From a distance, we hear the sound of the train horn. Good. It can bring us out of here. When we reach the clearing, gunshots from behind us ring out.

            “Keep moving!” Tobias yells, enabling Irene and I to run across the train tracks so he can shoot at most of our pursuers. When he’s done he runs towards us and I lift up my artificial gun to shoot, hoping that it hit the right targets and not Eric.

            Tobias jumps over the tracks just as the oncoming train nearly hits him. As the three of us run alongside the train, I hear gunshots again. We need to hurry. The bullets are touching the metal of the train or whatever is in it.

            I jump on the car next to me and use the left side of my body to help get it open before jumping in. I offer my arm out to help the next person to help them in. Irene grabs ahold of my arm and jumps into the train after me. Tobias jumps in without assistance. I hear four gunshots ring out before nothing.

            I sit down on the floor and start to breathe. Tobias looks at me like he wants to say something, before we hear people moving in here. We rise up and see Factionless emerging from the crates at the other end of the car. Among them is the one named Edgar and I see Edward.

            “You folks do sure know how to make an entrance,” says Edgar.

            The wind whistles through the car. Everyone in here is on their feet and armed. Edward is holding a gun and next to him, an older factionless woman is holding a knife that one would use to cut bread with.

            “I’ve never seen armed Amity before,” says the factionless woman with a knife. She nods to me. “Except that this one is obviously Dauntless.”

            “They are not Amity,” says Edward. “Two of them are Dauntless. The other one has to be Dauntless if she is holding a gun.”

            “Well, this one reeks of Dauntless.” Edgar eyes me with scorn. “Worse, she’s wearing the blue armband of Erudite loyalty.”

            They would have to know that Jeanine put the city under martial law after the genocide that Jeanine carried out.

            “I helped them get out,” I say.

            “But you were also the one who brought the Dauntless back to the Factionless sector,” Edgar says, pointing a knife at me.

            I stand my guard, holding on to the train car to keep me from falling out and shredded to pieces from the suction.

            “If you three want to survive, you might as well leave,” says the Factionless woman.

            “Our enemies are your enemies,” Irene says. “We have been running from the Erudite. If we get off, they’ll find us.”

            “Yeah?” Edward tilts his head. “What have you ever done for us?”

            “I helped you when the others just looked on and did nothing before the nurse came,” I say. “Remember?”

            “You did, but not the others,” says Edward.

            Tobias steps forward, so Edward’s gun is almost against his throat.

            “My name is Tobias Eaton,” Tobias says. “I don’t think you want to push me off this train.”

            The effect of the name on the people in the car is immediate and bewildering: they lower their weapons. They exchange meaningful looks. Then I remember something. Tobias’s mother escaped to the Factionless when Tobias was nine.

            “Eaton? Really?” Edward says, eyebrows raised. “I have to admit, I did not see that coming.” He clears his throat. “Fine, you can come. But when we get to the city, you’ve got to come with us.”

            Then he smiles a little. “We know someone who’s been looking for you, Tobias Eaton.”

            Of course. That person would be his mother.

 

* * *

 

            I sit at the wall of the car, leaning my head against it. I look at the outside. It’s close to twilight now. The Amity with Divergence are most likely imprisoned in Erudite headquarters and I’m seen as a dangerous insurgent for helping two other insurgents escape. If I return to Erudite, it would result in my imprisonment and Jeanine wiring me to the Box.

            The only thing that matters is that Eric is safe and that he is not branded a traitor like I will be.

            “You looked back as we ran,” Tobias says, as he sits beside me on the train.

            “That was only once,” I say.

            “Tris, someone who loves you doesn’t chase you down like a dog,” Tobias says. “You should have listened to me when I said –”

            “Not everything is in black and white, Tobias,” I point out. “You think you understand, but you don’t. Eric’s actions are much harder to read then what you think.”

            “Someone with good character would not –” he begins.

            “Someone would good character would not misinterpret what I was about to do and contribute to me killing my best friend and a twelve year old,” I point out, not bothering to hide the anger in my tone.

            Tobias’s eyes widen, like he remembers and he becomes apologetic. “That was not supposed to happen. I was only preventing you from doing something that you would regret later on.”

            I stand up. “Regret what? That was not my intention to shoot Irene. I was going to shoot and injure two Dauntless under simulation when you grabbed my arm and obscured my vision. Because of that, look what I have to feel.” I take out my artificial gun and show it to him. “I can’t even hold a real gun.”

            I feel guilty for doing this, since these two deaths were my responsibility. But Tobias contributed to it.

            “Tris,” he says. “I’m sorry, I thought I was doing –”

            “Doing what?” I demand. “What’s best for me? You don’t even know me well enough like you think you do.”

            I walk towards the other side of the train and sit. I don’t want to even be near him. At this moment, I want my parents.

            But where are they exactly?


	27. Chapter Twenty Seven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long hiatus, guys. I have been trying to juggle between different fandoms and getting stuck with the 100 and Disney. Hopefully I will get my motivation back for writing my favorite non-canon pair.

I don’t know how much time passes before they tell us to get off. But when they do, we are in the part of the city where the factionless live, about a mile from where I grew up. I recognize each building we pass as one I walked by every time I missed the bus home from school. The one with the broken bricks. The one with a fallen streetlight leaning against it.

            We all jump from the train and follow the factionless into a crevice of a broken building.

            “What’s going on?” Irene asks him. “How do they know your name?”

            In here, one could hear people weld things together and I look up to see boxes lining the walls above our head; with people in them. On the ground, factionless are walking through here like it’s a street.

            “This is Factionless?” I ask, looking around the area. This looks as if they built their own compound within ruins. I remembered reading the sociology report in the newspaper about how the factionless form their own communities. I should have known that they would go this far.

            I stop gazing at my surroundings and catch up to them. Stares and silence greet us as we follow Edgar deeper into the building. The line of factionless ahead of us parts away, like they know who we’re seeing.

            Like she’s here at the moment. When the last two factionless people part away, we see a woman with brown, shoulder-length hair and she appears to be in her late thirties. For a factionless woman, she dresses rather…well, though her black blazer is stained with dry, red paint.

            “Tobias,” she says.

            “Evelyn,” he says, his voice shaking a little.

            At first, I thought I must be dreaming. I know she’s not dead but she doesn’t look old enough to be his mother. However, she must not have ventured outside as she wouldn’t want to be discovered, as the sun ages us. Tobias is older than he looks from all the stress he probably has dealt with due to his upbringing.

            “Hello,” she walks towards him. “You look older.”

            “Yes, well. The passage of time tends to do that to a person,” he says. He walks away; passing his mother.

            “I thought she was dead,” says Irene.

            “Apparently not,” I say, not wanting to give away the fact that I knew.

            “Beatrice?” I thought I hear mother ask.

            I turn my head to see mother wedging herself through the crowd, people getting out of the way so that she could be let through.

            “Mother,” I whisper. I run towards her and throw my arms around her; like Visiting Day last year. Faction customs don’t matter anymore, since Abnegation is no more.

            “Beatrice,” she says, stroking my hair. “I’m glad you’re safe.”

            I hang onto her for a minute before we separate. “Where is father?” I ask, looking at her.

            “He’s here,” she says. “He and some of the men from Abnegation are gathering food with the factionless for dinner.”

            “There are survivors?” I ask. I was under the impression that most of the faction who were not Divergents were killed.

            She wraps her arm around my shoulders and leads me away from the group of factionless. “A hour before the simulation started, we gathered who we could and evacuated before the armored trucks got there.”

            Gathered who they could. They probably took those who were close acquaintances. “The Blacks?” I ask.

            Mother lowers her head, like she didn’t want to say what happened. “Susan got out. Her parents…on the other hand.”

            “You don’t have to say it, mother,” I tell her.

            “We can’t escape from reality, Beatrice,” mother says. “We mourn those we lost to help heal us.”

            Mother has always had this wisdom about her. I wonder where she learned it from. Not from Dauntless, obviously.

            She leads me away from the main hub of activity and towards a curtain. She pushes it aside and allows me to enter first. I step into a room where there are shelves stocked with nonperishables. We have given them nonperishables while we donated food to them. Most likely they stocked them up.

            A group of men in mismatched clothing sift through cans of vegetables and bags of soup. Mother said that some of the Abnegation are here, so the Abnegation are most likely wearing mismatched clothes. Also, I recognize that my father is one of them, as mother said.

            “Father,” I say. The others stop what they are doing and look at me unease. It’s because I’m wearing the black Dauntless uniform with the blue armband around my left arm. Father, however, looks relieved that I’m here.

            “Beatrice,” he says. Though his arms are full, he still manages to hug me and I hug him back. It’s good to be with my parents again. If only Caleb was here.

 

* * *

 

            One of the factionless starts cooking the food that was gathered prior so we can have dinner. Those who want to eat sit at long tables; which are situated near the large bowl that is sitting over a fire.

I have taken off my jacket and burned it in a fire, replacing it with a long, yellow shirt. I don’t want to be seen wearing that.

            Especially considering the blue armband marking me as a Dauntless Traitor. Or as Tobias referred to them as.

            When the soup is finished, they ladle it into a can and distribute it, handing out spoons, and then passing cans around so everyone can have a bite of everything.

            Edward drops to the seat next to me and takes the can of soup from my hands.

            “It may seem strange at first, but one gets used to it after a while,” says Edward. He shovels several noodles and a piece of carrot into his mouth, and passes the can to the woman on his left.

            “I can’t imagine how disease would spread that way,” I say, as father hands me a can of peas.

            “We had a doctor examine them three weeks before the attack,” says father. “There were not many cases of meningitis.”

            “They must be lucky,” Irene says. “Where do you come from exactly? What factions?”

            “Someone is curious for a Dauntless,” Edgar says, rolling his eyes. “Most of us are from Dauntless. Then Erudite, then Candor, and plus we got a handful of Banjo-Strumming Softies. No one fails Abnegation initiation, but the only reason why one would see some now is that a bunch came here for refuge during the attack.”

            “Yeah, the Dauntless have a thing for only keeping just ten of its initiates,” Irene says, passing a can to Tobias.

            “That, and that Dauntless considers anyone of old age to be worthless,” says Edgar. Well, that’s a blunt way to put it.

            “What do you mean by that?” Irene asks.

            Knowing that she was going to find out sooner than later, I clear my throat. “Once the Dauntless reach a certain level of physical deterioration, they are asked to leave. In one way or another.”

            “The other way is killing them right?” Irene asks.

            “As I was told, for some death is preferable to factionlessness,” I say.

            “Those people are idiots,” says Edward. “I’d rather be factionless than Dauntless.”

            “How fortunate that you ended up where you did, then,” says Tobias coldly.

            “Fortunate?” Edward snorts. “Yeah. I’m so fortunate, with my one eye and all.”

            “I seem to recall hearing rumors that you provoked that attack,” says Tobias.

            I slam the can of peas on the table. “Tobias, we already discussed this. Did Peter happen to just magically obtain the butter knife in his hand to attack him? The attack was unprovoked.”

            “Just because I didn’t bring it up, that doesn’t mean you won the discussion,” I say.

            “Just because your mother is the leader of these people, that doesn’t make you automatically correct,” says mother.

            Tobias stares at his can.

            No one talks until Tobias asks Edward. “Do you know much about how things are right now? Did all the Dauntless side with Erudite? Has Candor done anything?”

            “Dauntless is split in half,” Edward says, talking around the food in his mouth. “Half at Erudite headquarters, half at Candor headquarters. What’s left of Abnegation is with us. Nothing much has happened yet. Except for whatever happened to you, I guess.”

            I know that. Eric told me when I was looking at the bulletin of insurgents labeled by the Erudite.

            Eric. I look at the ring on my finger. Just thinking about him makes me ache in my chest.

            I eat spoonful after spoonful until my stomach is full. Then I follow mother to one of those big boxes lining along the walls of this compound. It has a battered sofa and two beds with a room to the side. It’s like they made makeshift apartments.

            There is no privacy even, as the view is seen from the hub of activity below.

            I change into black slacks and a grey sweater that mom provided me in the small room that looks like a bathroom from centuries ago. In the makeshift apartment, mother smooths blankets on the couch, where I will be sleeping.

            “Caleb is still at Erudite,” I say.

            “Good,” mother says, adjusting the pillows on the couch. “He did what I asked him to do.”

            “What do you mean?” I ask.

            “Mere hours before the attack, he came to Abnegation,” says mother. “He said that you gave him information on Visiting Day, and that it pointed to a simulation attack. Did you, Beatrice?”

            “Yes, I did,” I say. “Eric gave me a USB drive that morning and said that I could give it to Caleb.”

            “Caleb wanted to go with us to the factionless sector but I insisted that he stay in Erudite to collect some more information,” mother says. “To return when the right time comes.”

            “What would the right time be, in your opinion?” I ask.

            “I don’t know, Beatrice,” she says. “Though I hope it’s soon. Evelyn has plans for Erudite.”

            “What sort of plans?” I ask.

            “I don’t know but from the tone of what I have been hearing, they are not good,” says mother. “So, hopefully he gets out before Evelyn can even put it into action. That way, we can leave the city before it everything goes from bad to worse.”

            I actually hate to even think what it might be or how bad, but willful ignorance is not the way to go.

            But another thing gnaws at me: Leaving the city?

            “But, mother,” I say. “No one has gone beyond Amity since the founding of the Faction System. It’s dangerous out there.”

            “Not quite,” she says. “There are people beyond Amity that will help us. People we can trust.”

            I want to believe her but who knows what is outside Amity.

 

* * *

 

           

            I lay awake on the couch, listening to my parents sleep. This feels strange, sleeping in a compound where people who don’t belong in a faction call their own. What makes me more restless is that I feel cold without him near me. And I feel it more than the night of the attack.

            Not just cold but I feel like a limb has been ripped out of me without my consent. I wish for the nights where I would snuggle against his warm body; inhaling the scent of the masculine body wash and my fingertips touching the cotton fabric of his shirt. His hand touching my lower back as we slept.

            However, it’s only a just a memory.

            Tobias and Irene plan on going to Candor to be with the rest of the Dauntless. The next raid planned by Erudite is in Candor. I want to stay with my parents with the Factionless but if the Dauntless overpower the Erudite-Dauntless forces, they will execute Eric without a second thought. He has friends that would object to his execution but he is not well-liked by the Dauntless due to his reputation. They wouldn’t know that he is on their side but they wouldn’t listen either, as they don’t know what happens behind the scenes.

            However, I know that the Candor will ensure that the Dauntless will not execute Eric without a trial.

            As for mother wanting us to go beyond the Amity compound, I could hardly fathom it. We don’t know what’s beyond there but most likely it’s dangerous.

            _But that’s what you were taught_ , the logical part of me thinks.

            Also, the Erudite speculate that mother was not born in the city. Her lack of paternal lineage shows that. If mother was born outside of Amity, then she knows what is out there. She would know which areas are safe.

            I trust her judgment.

 

* * *

 

            The next morning, I slip into a pair of pants and zip up a vest that mother provided me. Looking at the cracked mirror, I look passing for Dauntless. That is a Loyal Dauntless; not a Dauntless Traitor. The term _Dauntless Traitor_ sounds so ignorant. Zeke and Tori are not traitors and neither am I.

            For breakfast at the Factionless’ dining hall, they pass around cans of eggs and bacon.

            “Are you joining them?” Edward asks as we watch Tobias and Irene walk past the line of tables, with knapsacks slung over their shoulders.

            I shake my head. “No, as I haven’t seen my parents since the attack on Abnegation. It’s not like I see them anyway, with this ‘Faction before Blood’ doctrine.”

            “With the way things are going, that it going to be useless,” Edward says. “I have nothing against my upbringing but people are going to see through Jeanine soon enough. Also, it’s probably smart to avoid Candor, since they will see you as a traitor for being in league with Jeanine.”

            “The ones who don’t believe Jeanine’s propaganda will,” I point out. “They will think that I joined forces with her willingly.”

            “No intelligent person works with her willingly, except if they kiss her ass,” Edward says. He is right about that. Jeanine only got Eric to work with her because she threatened his mother.

            When I felt satisfied and full until lunch, I go over to see what goods they have, as we give them more then just clothes and food. I see Factionless come out of a room, holding worn and frayed books; with one of them reading the top book in his hand.

            Curious, I pull back the curtain to enter the room, and it feels as I might sneeze and my eyes water.

            The lobby in Erudite headquarters smells of dust-covered pages but not to the point where you feel as if you might sneeze and your eyes sting. Some of the books here must have not been touched for years since the original owners had touched them.

            I approach the shelf to my left and analyze the titles. This seems to be full of history books, like the ones back in the apartment. I touch the bindings to see if I could find a familiar title when I pull one out. The one about the history of the Ancient Romans.

            Perhaps here, I can find some measure of familiarity.

           


	28. Chapter Twenty Eight

            “You are lucky that you stayed behind, you know,” Edgar tells me before lunch, as we ladle the food into the cans. “Jeanine is going to want Candor to hand over the insurgents.”

            “There is the truth serum to consider,” I point out. “They will not hand them over once they are given the truth.”

            Edgar shrugs. “I’m glad that I was born factionless instead of being categorized into a group. When you’re in a faction there are a lot of expectations and how to act.”

            I could see where he was coming from; that there are expectations to your behavior when you are in a faction. Without a doubt, there will be factionless who will view the faction system as oppressive.

            I probably don’t feel that way since I was born in Abnegation and passed initiation.

            “Shit,” I hear a vaguely familiar voice say from a distance behind me followed by clattering of cans.

            We both turn and I feel my eyes widen when I recognize who it is. Molly, who fed the Erudite lies about my father and tried to belittle me during initiation, looks at me like I’m someone that she didn’t want to see again. Looks like she’s heard from Jackie about what went on after initiation.

            “Let me give you a mop so that you can clean that up,” Edgar mutters under his breath before walking away. Leaving the two of us.

            I cross my arms and ask her, “Did the door hit you on the way out after initiation?”

            “I guess so,” she says, scratching her neck. “Edward made some friends in here and they all agreed to ignore me as I was the girl that made the slanderous comment about one of the Abnegation councilman.”

            “It was slanderous, not to mention childish.” I look at her coldly. “Idiotic as well. Did it occur to you that my brother would read it or were you were so focused on getting revenge for me ranking third in stage one that you didn’t think it though?”

            She says nothing, though her face turns to color of puce. Not so cocky and tough now, huh?

            “Funny,” I say, arching my eyebrow. “Last time I saw you, you mocked me every chance you got and tried to prove how tough you were.”

            “Tris, Peter – ” she begins until I cut her off.

            “Don’t give me that bullshit,” I say, cutting her off. “You helped bully me out of your own free will. Not to mention that it was your decision to lie to a Erudite reporter, knowing far too well about the relations between Erudite and Abnegation. You think I’m that stupid?”

            She pauses, not sure what to say at first. “I see that Eric has been a influence in your demeanor.”

            “Yeah, because the only thing you know is that hard exterior of his,” I say coldly. “Because you been in Dauntless for only three weeks.”

            By this time, Edgar comes back, bringing over a bucket and a mop. I return with what I was doing earlier. I don’t want to waste time with Molly and her excuses. I have better things to do.

            “Did she give you any problems?” Edgar asks me.

            “She used to,” I tell him. “She was a lackey of someone who thought that I was weak and wouldn’t last initiation. She and another lackey of his parroted that belief.”

            “People who say that others are weak are the weak ones, as Evelyn says sometimes,” Edgar says.

            “True,” I say. “Only a coward stomps on people who are emotionally stronger than them.”

            After we finished ladling the soup into the cans, we bring them out into the central eating area that way people can have their share with food. I sit down somewhere with a can of soup and stuff a chunk of beef and some noodles in my mouth before passing the can to the person next to me.

            “The Erudite seem to be quiet for days since the attack,” someone says beside me.

            “They are quiet until after they run out of their batch of Divergents from Amity to test on,” I reply. “Jeanine won’t stop until she finds a Divergent suitable for her criteria.”

            “So, the Erudite leader is using a percentage of the population as lab rats?” someone asks me.

            “Without a doubt, yes,” I say before being handed a can of peas and corn. “Nothing that shouldn’t surprise me.”

            “I don’t know if anything should surprise us about that woman,” says Edward. “Especially after she programmed Dauntless into being killing machines.”

            “Could you please take your conversation elsewhere,” a woman says feet away from us. “You will unsettle the children.”

            “Let’s go to see what Evelyn thinks about this,” says Edward.

            The last time I saw Evelyn was when we arrived from Amity after running from Erudite-Dauntless forces. I’m sure she has choice words about Jeanine’s schemes, especially concerning the Divergent.

            Edward, two of the Factionless who were part of the conversation, and I leave the eating area. We walk along the line of open apartments and towards a door to a apartment that is closed off. Given that Evelyn assigned herself as the leader of the Factionless, it would be hers as she would be deserving of privacy.

            Edward knocks on the door and I hear her say, “Enter.”

            He pushes open the door and we follow him into a room that seems patch worked from materials originating in previous buildings; as the door looks out of place. Evelyn looks up when we come in, studying us with critical eyes. Due to that analyzing gaze, she must have been born Erudite before her transfer to Abnegation.

            “Is there something that requires my attention?” she asks us, standing up.

            “From what we hear, the Erudite are not lying dormant like you thought before, Evelyn,” says Edward.

            “Technically, I was proven wrong by Tobias as he said that he and his friends were chased by Dauntless that are loyal to Erudite,” Evelyn replies, turning the wrists buttons on her white shirts. “Yet, he didn’t say why.”

            “Jeanine is looking for Divergents,” I answer. “She is using us as a scapegoat for the attack on Abnegation, and is using that as an excuse to cleanse the remaining factions of Divergents.”

            I don’t say what her motives are, since I don’t know how Evelyn would react to it; not to mention that I barely know her.

            “Interesting that they are not storming the factionless compound instead,” says Evelyn.

            “What do you mean?” I ask, confused.

            “Before the simulation attack, part of the Abnegation aid effort involved testing the factionless for a certain genetic anomaly,” she says. “Sometimes that testing involved re-administering the aptitude test. Sometimes it was more complicated than that. But they explained to us that they suspected we might have the highest Divergent population of any group in the city.”

            No wonder people who ended up factionless had a hard time conforming to the factions they chose.

            “Oh,” I say. “No wonder you had trouble –”

            “Trouble conforming?” she finishes. “Most of us can’t confine themselves to a particular way of thinking would be most likely to leave a faction or fail its initiation.”

            “What about those that remain in a faction undetected?” I ask. “Is it just pure luck?”

            “Divergents are able to go undetected in Amity and Abnegation, I heard,” Evelyn says in reply. “In Candor, Dauntless, and Erudite, it’s difficult to hide, especially given that the Dauntless use simulations for their initiation. It’s pure luck to go undetected in Dauntless initiation.”

            “Let me guess,” I say, folding my arms. “Tobias has supplied you information about Dauntless initiation.”

            Evelyn nods and her lips curve into a smirk. “However, I have eyes in other factions as well.”

            _She’s using him_ , I think to myself. But I can’t place myself on a pedestal since I have done things I regret myself. I heard something along the lines saying, _that things in our lives make us or break us_. Probably from one of Eric’s books. I don’t remember which one to be specific.

            Evelyn has been abused by Marcus and who knows what happened to her before that. Mother says that Evelyn has plans for Erudite.

            Evelyn is one angry woman and it’s like she wants to spread her misery.

 

* * *

 

            On the third morning in the Factionless Compound, I choose my outfit by random. One would considering that people wear their outfits mixed from the other factions. When I finish dressing into a set of clothes, I realize that I’m wearing black, grey, and blue together.

            The colors belonging to the three factions I have aptitude for. To those knowing what I factions I have aptitude for, I’m a walking target. But people who don’t know me well wouldn’t think twice.

            I am in line to get my breakfast when a boy that looks to be a year younger then me comes in running. With his heavy breathing and the urgency on his face, it’s like he saw something that he wants us to know about.

            “There was a raid in the Merciless Mart led by Dauntless loyal Erudite!” he shouts. “It happened last night!”

            The chatter becomes nothing but a whispers and Edward approaches him. “What was the outcome, buddy?”

            “I didn’t see it, as I wasn’t in there,” he says. “But I remember most of the raiding party evacuating like they lost a fight but the Erudite they brought with them and the leader of the raid wasn’t with them.”

            The leader of the raid was left behind? Frantic thoughts race through my mind. Please don’t let it be him, please don’t let it be him…

            “Who was their mission leader?” I ask hollowly.

            “I didn’t get his name but he had a tattoo on his neck just like yours and his head was shaved except for the top of his head,” he answers.

            My heart sinks at the revelation. Eric.

 

* * *

 

            I don’t know how time passed between the hour we heard about the raid in the Merciless Mart. Within minutes of hearing about the raid, mother, father, and I took our meager possessions and left the Factionless sector. Father said that they might need our help and since he’s a councilmember, he’s not wrong about that.

            My legs feel like gelatin on the way to the Merciless Mart. I am literally preparing for the worst but if he’s dead, I don’t know what to do. It would feel like someone ripped a piece of my heart out. Hopefully he’s not dead but I fear it.

            By the time we arrive in the Merciless Mart, I feel like passing out due to anxiety and as if she senses it, mother wraps her arm around my waist to support me as we make it up the stone steps.

            When we enter the lobby, we see Dauntless soldiers standing around. Their weapons are not drawn but they eye me with unease. Yet they are not moving in to arrest me.

            “State your business,” says a Dauntless soldier with a cast on her arm.

            “We came to help,” says father, but after that escapes his mouth, I say, “I need to speak with your leader.”

            Eyes all fall on me and someone lifts their gun up slightly. “You have a message from Erudite?”

            “No, and it should be obvious that I’m defected,” I say, making those words sound commanding and authoritative as possible. I am one of their Dauntless leaders after all. “Bring me to Jack Kang.”

 

* * *

 

            They take me to the third level of the building and lead me into a polished office; with a marble desk and a bookshelf sitting against the wall and behind the desk was Jack Kang himself.

            By most faction standards, he is a young leader – only forty years old. But by Dauntless standards, that’s nothing. Eric became a Dauntless leader at seventeen, as well as myself. But that’s probably one of the reasons the other factions don’t take our opinions or decisions seriously.

            Jack is handsome, too, with short black hair and warm, slanted eyes, like Tori’s, and high cheekbones. Despite his good looks, he isn’t known for being charming, probably because he’s Candor, and they see charm as deceptive.

            He looks up at me as soon as I entered. “They say you requested an audience with me?”

            “In fact, I did,” I say, as I’m sitting down. “As you know, I defected from Erudite.”

            He nods in acknowledgment. “Tobias Eaton’s testimony cleared you from any implications of ill will, as far as I’m concerned.”

            “Yes, but I’m here to make a request,” I say. “I want to know what happened to the leader of last night’s raid.”

            “He’s locked in a holding cell until we hold him on trial for his crimes,” says Jack Kang.

            Relief fills me. He’s not dead, however

            “I arranged a meeting with the representative of Jeanine Matthews tomorrow morning,” he says. “To see if we could avoid any more trouble.”

            What? Knowing Jeanine, she’ll send someone who she would consider disposable. Max. And knowing her, I know what one of her terms will be: to return Eric to Erudite. She will want him back as he is among her pawns that know important, valuable information.

            “You can’t expect Jeanine to leave you alone without strings attached,” I point out, slamming my fist onto the desk. “If you want something, she wants something in return. And I know that she knows that Eric holds information that she doesn’t want him to spill.”

            “Don’t worry, he’s well-guarded,” says Jack.

            “By people who most likely hate his guts, who wouldn’t hesitate to turn him over,” I hiss.

            Jack considers this for a moment before asking, “Do you intend on staying?”

            I remember mother telling me about her plan to leave the city before things get bad. About meeting people who she knows.

            “We’re leaving tonight,” I say.

            “Then, you two will leave Candor at night,” he says.

            It’s settled.

 

* * *

 

            I use the directory to find the cafeteria, but as soon as I enter Caleb runs towards me and enfolds me into his arms in a hug.

            I return the hug. I know it’s only been a few days since I have seen him, but the last time I hugged Caleb was during Visiting Day this year. I never thought that I share this again with him.

            “How did you get here?” I ask him after we separate.

            “Jeanine wanted Erudite witnesses to the Candor raid and Zeke offered to refer to Erudite he selected,” answers Caleb. “Little did she know, we used that as a excuse to get out of Erudite.”

            “Where’s Zeke?” I ask.

            “Still at Erudite,” he says.

            “Tris!” I hear Christina yell. I turn to see where it was coming from, only for her to launch into a hug. This takes me by surprise, since I thought she would have considered me a traitor for just being in Erudite.

            “It’s good to see you,” she says with a smile. “When did you get here?”

            “Since this morning,” I answer as she leads me to a table. “We heard about the attack in the Merciless Mart, and my parents decided to help.”

            “Why would it surprise me? They are Abnegation and all,” she says.

            I feel the blood drain from my face and my stomach writhe as I recount the image of bodies lying on the ground. Will on the ground, dead from my own hand. That twelve year old girl…

            Christina steps back, like it was a mistake for her to mention my former faction.

            “Yeah, sure,” I say, breathless. There is one person that I need to see and it’s Eric.

            Tobias steps into the cafeteria and some jeering follows. Something about him being a coward for leaving his home.

            “What happened?” I ask, wondering about the jeering.

            “When they put Four under the truth serum, he said he regretted being a coward for leaving his home,” says Christina. “And some idiots think that he was a coward for leaving.”

            “Tobias is no coward,” I say, standing up. “The people that think he is are narrow-minded.”

            I approach Tobias and he straightens when seeing me. Despite the chaos that reigned for the past days, I’m still considered a Dauntless leader.

            “Tris,” he says, “I was wondering when –”

            “Where are they holding one of the leaders of last night’s raid?” I demand, interrupting him.             “I don’t think I can do that,” he says sternly.

            “What? In fear that he might hurt me?” I demand.

            “You don’t know what he’s done,” Tobias maintains.

            “Did he kill anyone?” I demand.

            “No, but he led a raid that could have resulted in the deaths of people,” answers Tobias. “Not to mention he participated in the genocide that led to the deaths of thousands of Abnegation.”

            Blood reaches the surface of my face. “Listen, I played a role too.”

            “That is different,” Tobias says. “You had no choice. Eric on the other hand –”

            “If I had no choice, then the same can be said about Eric,” I point out. “What warped logic do you have to believe that Eric wasn’t blackmailed into participating? Jeanine had the footage blacked out that day, so you don’t know what Eric said when Jeanine presented her scheme.”

            Tobias puts his head down. He can’t deny that I’m right.

            “I just need to speak with him,” I say. I want to do more than that. I want to embrace him and never let go.

            Tobias looks at me and says, “Come.”

            I follow him.

 

* * *

 

            Tobias leads me to the fifth floor, where the same black and white theme is on the walls and on the floors. It’s a good thing I didn’t choose Candor or otherwise my eyes would have been dizzy from the checkerboard patterns.

            We approach a door guarded by two Dauntless soldiers. When they see me, I see the immediate wariness in their eyes. It’s because I supposedly sided with Erudite after the genocide on Abnegation.

            “I just want to visit him,” I say.

            “How can we be sure that you would not help him escape?” the woman asks me.

            “Just give me three minutes,” I say, this time sounding more authoritative.

            The Dauntless guards look at Tobias for confirmation. He nods at them.

            “Alright, three minutes,” the man says.

            He unlatches the lock and opens the door. I feel my heart pound hard inside my chest as sweet collects in my palms.

            I take a deep breath as I step inside the room. he looks up to see who walked in and at the sight of me, he slouches.

            “Tris,” he breathes.


End file.
